The Lost
by earthenrose
Summary: Aang, Katara, and Sokka are running low on supplies so they stop at another Fire Nation carnival. There they'll meet a girl with a mysterious past that she tries to keep to herself. Who is she and what's her connection to the Fire Nation? R&R please!
1. Chapter 1 Lights Below

Yes, I did change some things in this chapter, but it was mostly spelling errors. Other than that, enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to review please!

It hadn't been too long since Aang, Katara, and Sokka last encountered the Fire Nation's troops. As a matter of fact, it had been only yesterday when they avoided a giant raid on their camp.

Now, they were traveling over the out skirts of the Earth Nation. Unfortunately, it was the piece closest to the Fire Nation's Islands so it was one of the first to fall and would most likely be the last to be recovered because it backed up to steep mountains.

" I don't see why those losers can't stay on their own land and come over only to trade," complained Sokka from his spot on Appa's back.

" I know what you mean, they keep coming like a disease," sighed Aang from his post on Appa's head.

No one really had anything to say, so they flew on in silence. As dusk drew closer, Katara noticed lights down below.

" Look!" she cried out with Momo looking over the side of the saddle; tail swishing excitedly, "Lights! It's like a carnival or something down there…"

" Yeah, but do you remember the carnival we went to? It was a Fire Nation carnival and it turned into a disaster," grumbled Sokka heatedly.

" Oh Sokka, it might not be as bad as last time. I mean come on, we're in Earth Nation territory," replied Aang.

" No, it WAS the Earth Nation's territory. This was probably one of the first attack spots so the land below now belongs to the Fire Nation. That carnival is probably crawling with their warriors," retorted Sokka, but neither Aang nor Katara paid him any attention.

" If it is a Fire Nation Carnival, they'll probably use masks. Lucky we still have them huh?" said Aang happily with a huge watermelon grin, " no one would know!"

" We need to be careful though because we have to stock up our supplies," said Katara with a tiny nod.

Aang smiled once again before he let out an enthusiastic, "yip-yip!" No one paid any attention to Sokka's angry mutterings.


	2. Chapter 2 Encounter

I do not personally own any of the Avatar characters with the exception of the ones I added to suit my needs and purposes. Oh, and would it kill yah to give a review now and then? Geez! ;)

When they landed in a wooded area, night had already come and they could see the bright lanterns through the trees. Lucky for them, the carnival itself was a typical Fire Nation carnival where everyone wore masks.

" I hope that we meet friendly people that'll help us out a little," said Aang as he bounced along before Sokka and Katara.

" I just hope that no one recognizes us," mumbled Sokka.

" Geez Sokka, why are you so grumpy?" Katara asked as she stopped to eye her brother in the dim light.

" It's nothing… it's just that I have a bad feeling about this, that's all…" answered Sokka with a sigh before donning his mask.

" Not another one of your feelings Sokka," exclaimed Katara.

" Hey, remember when I had those bad feelings about Jet and they turned out to be true?" said Sokka defensively before walking on.

" Yeah and remember when we left you got the directions wrong. You admitted then that you weren't always right," pressed Katara, she really didn't like her brother when he acted like the wise one of the group.

" But, I'm not always wrong…" responded Sokka.

" What ever…" replied Katara before she too began to walk on. She knew better than anyone when it was use less to even try to argue the point with Sokka, his skull was too thick for his own good.

Up ahead was a girl with a large pot resting on her shoulder. She was headed their way, but the light was too poor to see her features. Aang must not have noticed her because he started to walk backwards and talk to Katara and Sokka at the same time.

Just as the girl started to move out of Aang's way, Aang tripped on a raised root and stumbled into the girl. Both of them lost their balance and her pot crashed to the ground.

" Oh no!" she cried as she scrambled out from under Aang.

" I'm sorry…" apologized Aang lamely.

" Damn it, Margan is going to kill me!" exclaimed the girl sadly as she gingerly picked up a few potshards.

" I'm really sorry…" apologized Aang a second time but just as lamely. The girl sighed and threw the largest of the shards to the side of the road before sighing again.

" Is there anything we can do to help you?" asked Sokka, still in his Fire Nation mask.

" You? A Fire Nation, help me, an Earth Nation slave?" asked the girl incredulously but she kept her head bent.

" Fire Nation? I'm not Fire Nation!" cried Sokka.

" Right…And I'm not a captive Earth Bender," replied the girl smoothly as she moved over to the side of the road and raised a similar pot out of the ground. " It's not exactly the same, but I doubt he'll notice," said the girl with a small, sad smile before she turned to face the other three. By then, her smile had faded and she had hefted her pot to her shoulder.

In the faint light she appraised the others and they were doing the same to her. She was about Sokka's age, maybe a little older, with long, thigh length brown hair, and eyes the color of sea foam.

" What are you doing out here by yourself?" asked Katara.

" I could ask you the same, fire maiden," replied the girl coolly.

" We're not Fire Nation," said Aang with a smile.

" Oh really?" asked the girl skeptically.

" That's right," continued Aang, undaunted by the girl's attitude, " That's Sokka and his sister Katara. They're from the Water Nation, and I'm Aang".

" Marisol! Damn it girl, where the hell are you with that water?" yelled a voice that made the girl's eyes go wide with fear.

" Oh Gods! It's Margan! He'll kill me for sure if he finds out that I was dawdling and not hurrying back to the show," whimpered the girl, Marisol.

" Wait, he said water, right?" asked Katara with a raised eyebrow. Marisol nodded feebly. " Then I think Aang and I could help you," continued Katara.

True to their word, Katara and Aang helped Marisol fill her pot faster than Marisol could have done on her own. They finished just in the nick of time because the voice yelled for Marisol once again, this time it was closer and angrier.

" I have to go… Thank you, both of you for helping me. I just wish I could do something nice for you in return…" said Marisol before hefting the filled pot back to her shoulder and giving a cheery smile. The only thing that kept them from believing her smile was the worry that manifested in her eyes.

" Hey… you can help fill our…" started Sokka, but Aang cut him off.

" Don't worry about it Marisol," smiled Aang.

" Thank you so much…" said Marisol before turning and practically bolted down the road toward the carnival. She kept going, but before she was out of earshot she called behind her, " Bye, and thanks again!"

After Marisol disappeared from view, Sokka turned on the other two and practically yelled, " What are you two thinking? First off, she might tell others about us. Second, she could have filled our supplies!"

" No, I wouldn't ask that of her, we barely know her. Plus, I don't think she'll tell anyone," replied Aang.

" How. Are. You. So. Sure." fumed Sokka, " How can you be so trusting?"

" I just know," replied Aang airily, " I can tell".


	3. Chapter 3 Another Visitor

another chapter, and still no reviews...sighs...

" Uncle, I don't think we should stop here; it's too crowded," Complained Zuko, " Too many eyes to see us".

" Naw, these people don't really care," replied his uncle, " Plus, I know a man who might help us, seeing that he has illegal slave performers".

Before Zuko could utter a retort, a large man pushed him out of the way. Behind him was a young girl with a water jug held in place on her shoulder with one hand. Her other hand was being pulled forward by the large man. On closer examination, Zuko realized that it wasn't her hand he was pulling but a chain on a manacle around her wrist.

"Margan, please! I didn't know that I was gone that long, I swear! Please let me go!" pleaded the girl.

" Damn it girl, you're going to pay for it tonight after you perform," growled the man as he yanked her forward with a savage pull on the chain.

Zuko let the girl's cries sink in, for they meant nothing to him. He listened to her whimper in pain and didn't care, until he made a personal connection. Before he could do anything, his uncle grabbed his arm and whispered, " Let me take care of this…" The only thing Zuko could do was nod before his uncle called aloud, " Hey, Margan. You an old man now…"

The gruff man turned to face the voice and when he saw whom it was, his face split into a huge, scary grin. " Oh it's you," replied the man before pulling the girl forward and pushing her in the general direction of the carnival tents. The girl lost her balance and fell over, putting out both arms to brace herself for the impact. The only problem was that in order to do that she had to let go of the water jug, which plummeted down to the ground. Luckily, she was able to earth bend on the pot, the second before it hit the ground and shattered.

" Okay show off, move it or I'll whip your hide from your bones," threatened Margan after she got up and lifted the floating pot back onto her shoulder.

Only then did Zuko notice the strange tattoo on the girl's right shoulder. It was a fairly large tattoo of a tree with a crown floating above it, all don e in black ink.

" I know…" thought Zuko, but before he could finish his train of thought, his uncle and Margan interrupted with loud hearty laughs. What ever it was that had provoked the sudden laughter out of them, Zuko didn't care. He had entirely focused in on the girl. There was something dangerously familiar about her, he just couldn't pinpoint it exactly.


	4. Chapter 4 Supplies

No I don't own Avatar; The Last Airbender, so I won't pretend like I do. And, in case you were wondering... I did change my summary to something else. I'm tired of begging, so review if you wish...

" See Sokka, it isn't so bad here. At least most of the items are reasonably priced," said Katara over her armload of groceries.

" Yeah well we could have asked that girl to stock up our wares," replied Sokka with a sour face behind his mask.

" Oh stop you two," chided Aang, "Why don't we drop this stuff off with Apa and come back to catch a show? I heard one man saying that the girls that perform are like gold, that he can't get enough. What ever that means…"

" I don't know Aang, you remember the last time we stopped to watch a show, don't you?" said Katara. It was obvious that she was tired of running and wanted a rest.

" Oh come on Katara, I said the same thing when we were on Apa's back but did either of you listen? Nooo! If you don't want to watch, fine but I'm not going to wait around for an invitation. You already dragged me here so I might as well enjoy myself," said Sokka hotly. The tension between the two crackled through the air and there was no way Katara could answer without one or both of them blowing up.

Aang picked up on this and said, " It's okay if you don't want to go and watch Katara. If you'd like, I'll stay with you, Apa, and Momo while Sokka goes alone to watch".

With an exasperated sigh, Katara said, "…Fine…" she didn't wait for either of them to say anything; she just turned and walked off, leaving Aang to follow after. Sokka didn't care; he let them go on their merry way. In fact, he was happy to spend some time alone.

" Look out ladies, Sokka's on the prowl," thought Sokka with a mischievous grin under his mask.


	5. Chapter 5 The thoughts of slaves

Okay, so I got my reviews... MANY THANKS TO: Burning tree and to rjectkd89 for their...interesting... reviews. If you please, keep 'em coming!

Another day, another performance for dirty-minded men," sighed Marisol from her spot at the warm up bar.

" I hear ya…" responded a girl further down the bar named Lily, "I'm sick of those idjits ogling us like a piece of meat. But hey, what can we do about it, being slaves and all…"

" God I'd love to slap some of those jerks! The only thing in the way is that monkey over there," said yet another girl, named Kiyomi as she thumbed over to Margan.

All seven girls muttered in agreement. Margan was the owner of the carnival and he was able to run it as he pleased. Not all the girls were from the same Nation. Marisol, Lily, Isadora, and Hua were Earth girls, while Kiyomi and Afina were Water girls. The only Fire girl was Akina, but how she got there was beyond them because she normally kept to herself.

A few of the girls had been "sold" to Margan temporarily as workers by their families, that way they could get back on their feet again financially. But when their families finally had enough to get them back, Margan had packed up and had taken their daughters.

Others, like Marisol, were kidnapped, never to see or hear of their homes again. Again, no one was sure how Akina became a slave, but the most popular rumor was that she was the bastard child of some high ranking noble of the Fire Nation, and that he didn't want to deal with the shame of having her around. So, it's said that her father "gave" her to Margan as a token of friendship.

Every girl had another "purpose", other than being a dancer. Some where singers, actresses, cooks, nurses, or used to serve the fancy of their well paying, male patrons. Everyday, Marisol thanked the gods that she wasn't one of those girls, yet…

Deep down, Marisol knew that it was a matter of time before Margan found a better slave to be his 'crown jewel' and she knew that there'd come a day when her father would stop trying to get her back somehow. She knew that if either of those happened, she'd be free for Margan to sell at night. The thought made her shudder physically. She'd hoped that no one had seen, but Hua did.

" Are you cold or something Marisol?" asked Hua with a raised eyebrow.

" Not really… why?" replied Marisol.

" Because I was going to say that you might be cold now, but that we're going to be sweating rivers once we're on that damn stage," said Hua as she did a very slow back flip.

" I know, those fire creeps like it like an oven out there… No offense Akina…" said Isadora while straightening her crimson silk top.

" None taken…" replied Akina in a bored tone as she stretched her legs out on the floor. Akina really didn't care what the others had to say, so she mostly tuned them out.

Out on the stage, two drums set a quick beat, like a heart beat.

" Time to move ladies or I'll bruise you so bad that people will think you're an ogre," yelled Margan.

All the girls groaned and made last minute adjustments to their hair, makeup, or costumes before filing out to the waiting area in the wings of the stage.

" …Another day, another performance for dirty-minded men," sighed Marisol.


	6. Chapter 6 Getting In

I don't own Avatar nor do I pretend to, but my characters are another story... Wait, I made a funny didn't I:

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When Sokka reached the town, he didn't know where to go. The only thing he did do was wander aimlessly among the stalls. After a couple of minutes, Sokka noticed that there was hardly anyone around. Most of the vendors, in fact, had closed.

" Aren't you going to see the dancing girls?" asked a voice from behind Sokka.

Now, Sokka hadn't realized that someone had been behind him so he ended up jumping about five feet into the air and landing hard on his rear. When he looked up, Sokka saw that the voice belonged to an old, bent man.

" Well, are you going or not?" asked the man.

"What?" asked Sokka in reply because he was dazed from the pain of the impact.

"I know you heard me, String Bean, so I'm looking for an answer," replied the man impatiently, "The show's going to start soon…"

" Uh…yeah, I was just going there," replied Sokka with his eyes shifting behind his mask.

" Well, I hate to tell you, String Bean, but you're going the wrong way," said the man as he offered his hand to Sokka so that he could get up.

"If you follow me, String Bean, I'll gladly take you so that you too could get an eye full," continued the man, " As you probably guessed, I'm headed that way too".

Sokka agreed, but wasn't sure of what to make of the older man. He was obviously Fire Nation, and he looked at least ninety-six to Sokka. Plus the fact that he was going to watch girls dance wasn't too comforting either.

"You're not from around here, are you, String Bean?" asked the man after a couple minutes of silence.

"Not really…just got in and all," replied Sokka nervously. The man nodded knowingly and didn't say anything else. A few more minutes passed before Sokka tried to produce small talk again. " So…uh….what are the girls like…the dancers I mean…" he asked.

" You'll see soon enough, String Bean, you'll see soon enough," replied the man with a small smile playing on his lips.

They rounded another corner and directly in front of them was the entrance to the stage area. Two men were guarding either side of the open entrance, probably more for show but Sokka still felt a little put off. The old man sensed this and told him to step lively.

As they stepped through the entrance, one of the guards put out his arm in front of Sokka, barring the way.

" No kids allowed, Ponytail," growled the guard.

" Relax, Jaesel. String Bean here's with me. I'll keep an eye on him and see that he doesn't get into trouble," said the old man.

The guard sighed and shook his head, "You know I can do that Kedric. The rules are rules. This show is just too risqué for younger audiences…"

" If I recall correctly, Jaesel, I took YOU to see Margan's girls when you were his age," cut in the old man shrewdly.

The guard didn't move an inch. He just stood there and let what the man said sink in. From the direction of the stage, two drums began to beat that Sokka swore was keeping time to his racing heart. "Hurry up and decide Jaesel, the show's starting," complained the old man.The guard sighed again and said, "Fine Kedric, you and Ponytail can go watch. But if Margan catches him, I'm not taking the blame".

" That's a good man," smiled the old man before turning to Sokka and saying, "Come on, String Bean, the pretty girls don't wait for anyone".


	7. Chapter 7 Special Treatment

Man, I can't believe that this is chapter seven already… I'll be sure to update soon, that is if finals don't kill me first… chapters 8 and 9 will be posted together, so don't miss 'em! Oh, and many thanks to DaSini for the review.

"I hope you don't mind Zuko," said Iroh, "But I set up something with Margan so that you can watch his girls perform and meet a few after. And _maybe_, if you're in the right _mood_ after the performance, keep one of his lovely girls company tonight…"

" Uncle, I don't need setting me up on dates, much less a date like _that_," replied Zuko sharply.

" Just a suggestion," said Iroh as he threw his hands in the air, " I just think that you should get out and enjoy life more, that's all".

Zuko was going to reply, but at that exact moment in time Margan chose to appear.

" There you are Iroh, ready to go?" bellowed Margan.

" I don't think so Margan, I'm not feeling well. I really don't think I should go. Why don't you take my nephew, Zuko?" replied Iroh weakly, every word sounding sicker than the last.

" You sure?" asked Margan gruffly, but Iroh couldn't answer because he suddenly had a coughing fit. It was so bad that he had to respond by waving his free hand in the general direction of the stage.

" Okay Iroh, I won't keep him out too late," said Margan as he quickly stepped behind Zuko. To Iroh, it almost looked like Margan had jumped behind Zuko for protection from Iroh's 'cooties'.

Zuko had listened to the conversation that transpired between the two men and realized that he could probably get out of going to the performance if he feigned concern for his Uncle and pretend to want to stay behind and take care of him. "Maybe I should stay behind and take care of my uncle," suggested Zuko, almost desperately.

" Nonsense!" said Margan loudly as he put his hand on Zuko's shoulder, " If your uncle wants you to have fun, you're going to have fun…"

Zuko was going to object, but Margan was already leading him to the spectators' area. "Damn," thought Zuko, " My plan didn't work…"

" I hope you enjoy the special treatment your uncle set up, boy. He really wants you to enjoy yourself," said Margan.

Zuko stayed silent but thought, " So that pretending to be sick act was just for his amusement?"

" Well, what do you think of that?" asked Margan when Zuko didn't reply. Again, Zuko didn't respond.

" Not much of a talker, eh?" attempted Margan again.

This time, Zuko did respond, but all he said was a brief "no". That pretty much killed all conversational attempts between them, so the rest of the way was traversed in silence.

" Now I can at least hear my own thoughts," thought Zuko acidly.


	8. Chapter 8 Sokka's Surprise

Yes, I'm now updating. No... finals didn't kkill me...thank God.Oh, and if you're going to read this chapter, read chapter 9 with it... it makes more sense that way...

"Come on, String Bean, we're almost there," called Kedric over his stooped shoulder, "The best place to watch is right in the middle, that way you see everything in detail".

"I'm going," replied Sokka before running into a tall, young man. The young man let out a growl of protest and when Sokka turned to say he was sorry, he realized that he had run into Zuko.

"Watch where you're going, punk!" spat the man next to Zuko and when Sokka tried to disguise his voice when he apologized, he caught Zuko's eyes narrow and glimmer in recognition.

Luckily, Kedric came up to get him. "Thought I lost you there for a second, String Bean. You have to be really careful not to lose yourself in crowds like these," said Kedric before nodding to the man that yelled at Sokka and saying, "Hello again, Margan. I hope your show will be better than the last".

"Don't worry Kedric, my girls never disappoint," replied the man, who was evidently Margan. A few seconds passed and it seemed to Sokka that both men were at a loss for words. Finally, Margan said, "Enjoy the show…"

"…Be sure to…"replied Kedric before turning away from Margan to walk away, nearly dragging Sokka in the process because Kedric had grabbed Sokka's arm to lead him to an open spot in the audience section.

"So that's Margan," thought Sokka, "No small wonder as to why Marisol was so afraid of him. He's a big… thing. He's just a really big, scary thing, rippling with muscle".

"That's one man you never want to cross, String Bean. It's one of the 'rules' around here that everyone must follow if they value their lives," whispered Margan when he felt that they were a safe distance from Margan, "He'll make your life a living hell if you anger him, and he'll enjoy himself while he's torturing you".

"He sounds like a man with one sick sense of enjoyment," muttered Sokka.

Kedric heard and said, "That he is, String Bean, that he is. But cheer up, here come the girls".

Sure enough, the fire in the torches had turned a deep red and a whirl of movement on stage caught Sokka's eye. The fabric of the dancers' costumes was the same color as the light cast by the torches, so it created the illusion of disjointed, moving body parts. Suddenly, the torches flared up brightly and every part of the dancers was visible. All the men around Sokka, including Kedric, were cat calling and cheering up at the girls, but Sokka stood in shocked silence. The girls on stage were wearing provocative clothing and they all were around his age.

"Ooh, ooh!" exclaimed Kedric happily, "See the one in front that's got her brown hair up and has that incredible body?"

"Not really," replied Sokka as he tried to see from behind the shoulders of two tall men, "You mean the one with the funky tattoo on her shoulder?"

"Yeah, that's the one. She's considered Margan's 'Crown Jewel'. He guards over her like a tyrannical dragon and he won't let anyone near her unless he is present or feels he can trust him or her, and that doesn't happen too often. But I have a feeling that she won't be his 'Crown Jewel' for long, because he only comes to this town when he's going to get a new asset. Then again I could be wrong… Anyway, her name's Marisol," said with a tiny smile.

Sokka's jaw dropped when he heard her name. "No way… There's no way that she's Marisol…"

"Of course she is, String Bean, who else could she be?" replied Kedric testily.

"Hey, would you two shut up! I'm trying to remember everything so that I can have girl filled dreams tonight. I don't want, or need, you pair of idiots spoiling it for me!" yelled a big brute of a man to their left.

Now let me tell you more about this guy. He's about six foot six, and was so muscular that he made Margan look like a wimp. But, he really had nothing going for him because he had a face that would remind you of a goat, a voice like a grizzly bear and smelled like a pigpen. He truly was someone only his mother could love, and even she was having a hard time coming to grips that she gave birth to such an unsightly being. Anyway, back to the story…

After the man yelled at them, Kedric shook his head and kept quite while Sokka averted his eyes back to the performance that was unfolding on stage.

"That can't be the same innocent Marisol we helped earlier today… can it?"


	9. Chapter 9 Zuko's Perspective

No I don't own any Avatar characters, yadda, yadda, yadda...;> Okay, strange thought occured to me, the Avatar is the only one who can master all 4 elements...right? So, can there be a person who can master more than one, but less than the 4?

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Margan led Zuko to a spot near the back of the crowd and stopped.

"Little do the other spectators know, back here is the best spot to watch the show," said Margan. Zuko still ignored him. "I have about seven girls and all but one of them is available tonight," continued Margan. About then, he really didn't care if Zuko spoke or not. As a matter of fact, he didn't care if Zuko was even paying attention to him. "There are the Earth girls: Lily, Isadora and Hua, the Water girls: Kiyomi and Afina, and my only Fire girl, Akina".

"And the one that you didn't mention? Who is she?" asked Zuko even though he kept his eyes strictly on the vacant stage.

"Not that it really matters, but her name is Marisol," said Margan.

"Marisol…" repeated Zuko quietly.

"She's from the Earth Nation and the girl I value most, so no one can have her. You don't come by those of nobility up for sale very often, but if you want her… come back in a week," continued Margan.

"Was she the one that you were…" started Zuko, but was cut off by someone running into him. Zuko let out a tiny growl of anger and the culprit turned around to face him, but didn't say anything. His clothes seemed familiar to Zuko, and the fact that the person was wearing a mask only added to the vague familiarity.

"Watch where you're going punk!" snarled Margan and the masked culprit apologized lamely. That's when Zuko's memory gave him a name for the masked figure in the outlandish clothing.

Zuko narrowed his eyes and thought, "…Sokka…" but didn't show any other outward sign of recognition.

Before anything else was said, an old man came up to Sokka and said, "Thought I lost you there for a second, String Bean. You have to be really careful not to lose yourself in crowds like these". Before Sokka could reply, the old man nodded and said, "Hello again, Margan. I hope your show will be better than the last".

Margan apparently knew the man because he said, "Don't worry Kedric, my girls never disappoint". The old man nodded again, but didn't say anything. It seemed to Zuko that he was stalling for time. Margan must have picked up on this because he added, "Enjoy the show…"

The old man nodded again and said, "…Be sure to…" before turning and dragging Sokka away by his arm.

When they disappeared into the crowd, Zuko asked, "Who was the old man? He seemed to know you".

Margan shook his head and said, "That's Kedric, my oldest and most bizarre customer. He was the one who helped me acquire my first girls; I guess you could say that I owe him my success… But he's always sneaking in boys barely old enough not to be considered 'little' anymore, I'd say that we're about even, even if those boys usually end up being faithful spectators that come to every show in their town". When Margan seemed finished talking about Kedric, Zuko let what he had just said sink in. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice that the fire in the torches turned a blood red and that the dancers had come on stage. It was probably the best because if he had noticed he would have fallen into an even deeper sense of homesickness. The only thing that snapped him out of his little world was the light from the torches growing incredibly bright. Off somewhere in the crowd, some man started yelling at someone else after all the cheering died down. Next to Zuko, Margan cleared his throat in a really loud manner to be sure that he had captured Zuko's attention and when he was sure that he had it, Margan said, "Here we go…"


	10. Chapter 10 Homesick

I don't own Avatar nor do I claim to... Strange. I put the diclaimer telling you to read chapters 8 and 9 together, but some people like to ignore such things... That's why 11 people read ch 8 and 15 people read ch 9...sigh... really strange.

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Marisol couldn't believe it. The crowd went wild after they barely made their entrance with that red fire trick.

"Geez, it was only an illusion," she thought, " I'm a little worried that this is going to get seriously out of hand".

Thinking back to prior performances she'd done and one of the worst immediately came to mind. It had happened last winter in some shantytown in the mountains. The entire time they were there it was cold and miserable for everyone, but that didn't stop Margan. He still made them dance in their skimpy out fits; luckily no one caught anything worse than a cold. To top the experience off, most of the spectators that night drank they're wages away on the cheap local brew, so they were stinking drunk. The ones that were close enough to the stage kept trying to grab them while they were going through the routines. And that wasn't the worst of it. The worst was when one idiot finally plucked up enough nerve and jumped up on stage with them. There he proceeded to try and kiss and/or grope every single one of them. The guards, who were now on duty as a matter of fact, took their sweet time getting there and when they did arrive they were laughing.

Marisol would have let her mind wander over the memory of that horrid night some more if it hadn't been for the light slap in the middle of her back. In case you're wondering, it was dancers' code for 'you're not smiling anymore, fix it'. She was grateful for the warning because not smiling during a performance was against Margan's 'rules'.

The 'rules' themselves were relatively simple to remember, it was the application of the 'rules' that got tricky. The 'rules' were: 1) don't interact with any man from outside the company unless Margan okays it; 2) always smile during a performance even if you don't mean it; 3) all chores are to completed by noon at the latest; and finally, 4) what ever you do, DO NOT PISS OFF MARGAN! And the girls knew that failure to comply with the rules is punishable by severe and painful extremes; it was torture, plain and simple.

Again, Marisol felt another slap on her back. "Dang it!" she yelled mentally. She looked over to Lily and Lily looked like she was going to laugh aloud at Marisol's rule breaking. Behind Lily was Afina, and she shot a look at Marisol that said plainly, 'you dumb arse…'

Marisol knew that she was joking with her though. The only one who really meant her looks was Akina, and Marisol knew why, well why it was true for her anyway.

You see when Marisol came she replaced Akina from her spot as Margan's favorite. Therefore, Marisol inadvertently 'pushed' Akina on the market, and made it so that Margan was free to sell her almost every night they were in a town. Poor Akina had only been off limits for only two weeks before she was sold like a piece of meat. Heck, if I were Akina I'd have a grudge too.

Marisol had let her mind just for a second when she felt not a light slap, but two quick taps between her shoulder blades. That one meant 'I need to tell you something urgently'. The signal was timed perfectly, as it was supposed to be, to one of Marisol's moves where she had to bend back, perfect for a quick word or two.

"What?" asked Marisol before straightening out and moving out of the way so that Isadora could take her place.

" Margan's got company," she whispered in reply and was able to continue because she had to do the move again in the routine, "Eyes on you".

No sooner had she shared this piece of information that the torches went out, allowing the girls to move off stage to get ready for their next performance. Marisol was literally up next because she had a solo in a glittering, no to mention skimpy, white and red dress. Marisol was already nervous about her piece and Isadora's news didn't help bring the calm she desperately craved.

What Isadora's cryptic message meant was that Margan was entertaining a 'special guest' and that they were both watching only her and not the others.

" Great, that's all I need…" grumbled Marisol as she changed. As skimpy as the outfit was, she still considered it to be her favorite. It was an off the shoulder, very snug dress that had hidden panels of red that would flash as she danced. The hem at the bottom wasn't even, but that added to the outfit rather than make it look cheesy. The glacial white of the dress contrasted starkly with her tanned skin, making her look almost exotic. After putting on the dress, Marisol walked over to the mirror and let the river of her brown hair tumble down with a sigh. "That feels better," thought Marisol as she stared at her reflection, unmoving, like a statue. Slowly, her mind started to wander and it ended up pausing on her family. She found herself wondering if they were okay, if they still thought she was alive and if they missed her as terribly as she missed them. Just as her eyes started to well up, Kiyomi walked in and said, "two minutes, Marisol… Oh, Marisol, what's the matter?"

" It's nothing…" replied Marisol weakly as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing her eye make up a little.

" If it was nothing you wouldn't be sniffling like that," said Kiyomi softly as she wiped some of the smeared make up off of Marisol's face in a motherly gesture, "What's bugging you?"

" It's really nothing…" started Marisol, but Kiyomi gave her a 'do not give me that crud' look. With a tired sigh Marisol turned back to the mirror so that she could talk more to the girl reflected on the mirror's surface than to Kiyomi, and said, "You know, before all this, people at home use to tell me how much I was like my mother. I had her skin color, her hair and her personality. The only difference was our eyes, she had ice blue ones and I…I have these paler than pale green ones. People would harp on our similarities but always forgot our differences. I hated it naturally, but mostly when they'd do it around my brother. He always…blamed me for what happened to her…"

Kiyomi gave a weak chuckle before saying, "Marisol, you're homesick! You know that that's okay, but, not a minute before your solo".

" Shite, I forgot all about my performance!" yelped Marisol as she hugged Kiyomi in thanks and dashed out to the stage.

Kiyomi shook her head and chuckled again before saying, "That girl…"


	11. Chapter 11 The Solo

HEY! I'm a big retard for not saying this sooner, but I want to thank Gotensfirebendintwin for the review. Much obliged. ; Well, if that isn't something… I have 365 hits already. Haha, one for each day of the year! Lucky me! XD I also have sad news to report, the voice of Uncle Iroh has passed away. In my profile I have alink to a site where they have a small tribute in his honor. May he rest in peace.

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Today must have been Marisol's luck day or something because the music started as soon as she had positioned herself correctly on the stage.

The song she was to do her number to was a slower jazzy tune that is very similar to, in many ways, the song Fever, meaning that it is sultry and it has almost a seductive quality to it; that was exactly how Margan wanted Marisol to come off to the audience, sultry and a tad seductive. But for the most part, Marisol felt like a big, fat idiot prancing about on stage.

As the song continued on, Marisol realized the it was about the time that she 'chose' a person from the audience to bring on stage; not that she actually had to choose the guy, Margan did all that for her. All she had to do was point out the man immediately to Margan's left; he was the 'luck one' who actually paid for the experience.

" Hmm… He's a new face," thought Marisol as she singled out the pale young man with the wicked burn on his face. Margan leaned over and whispered something to him before the young man turned and started to walk up to the stage. Normally the men that are picked run to the stage like a kid running to catch the ice cream truck, but this one took his sweet time getting to the stage, which annoyed Marisol to no end because it threw her routine off slightly. When he finally reached the stairs, Marisol impulsively ran over, grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the center of the stage. Surprised the young man tried to take a step towards her but she was too quick for him for she twirled out of reach behind him. Again, the young man tried to move so Marisol had to hiss from behind gritted teeth, "Don't you dare move or you'll ruin everything!"

The young man knew how to take an order, blatant or not, because he went as rigid as a statue, allowing Marisol to continue with her routine. The next move the performance demanded of her was that she place her hands upon the young man's shoulders and 'grind' on him. The move _looked _like she was all over him, but in reality, the only other thing that touched him, besides her hands, was her hair. A couple of sultry moves later, and the song was finally coming to a close, Marisol's least favorite part.

At the very end of her solo, Marisol had to do 'floor work', which was basically throwing herself at the guy's feet. It was supposed to make her look submissive but Marisol thought it looked like she was having a seizure in skimpy clothes.

When the time came, Marisol felt she had one mean luck streak because the young man kept his eyes solely on her face instead of her chest like the others usually did. It was a little unnerving, but also strangely calming to know that he wasn't like any of the others.

The song finally ended with Marisol doing her signature closing move, it's where she grabs the guy's calves and leans back, and not once did her eyes leave his face. She was careful to keep a close eye on him because she didn't know what he was liable to do when he thought she wasn't looking. Her vigilance was paid off when he thought she couldn't see his gaze drift down from her face and past her throat to linger on her chest. But, when the lights went down and Marisol pulled her head back up, his gaze snapped back to her face.

"Ooh, think you're slick, do you? Typical…" thought Marisol as she got up and grabbed the young man's sleeve and motioning him to follow her. The young man followed without comment as they passed the next act, which was Lily, Afina and Akina doing acrobatics. They paused right outside of one of the dressing rooms where Marisol told him to wait just outside as she changed her outfit.

Her next costume, by far, was the skimpiest she ever had to wear. It was comprised of a pair of super short shorts and a bikini top. Every single one of the girls detested the outfit.

When Marisol was finished changing she stepped out to where the young man was waiting, and when he turned to face her, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Oh please," scolded Marisol, "Stop it, it's creeping me out. It's not like you didn't get an eyeful already". The young man tried to form the right words in his defense but the sight of her seemed to knock all sense out of him and rendered him tongue-tied. Marisol ignored him and flipped her hair over to bind it into a high ponytail.

" Your tattoo…" he finally said when he spotted it on her right shoulder, "…When did you get it?"

" Had it for as long as I can remember," she replied before lifting her head and throwing her hair back with an audible whoosh, "How about your burn there? Doesn't seem too new…" The young man didn't reply. " Oh, I'm sorry, did I hit a sore spot for you?" continued Marisol sarcastically with a raised brow.

He didn't reply to that either.

" Then we're even. My tattoo is like your burn; both are sore subjects of conversation, both hold painful memories and we'd both like to hide them but can't seem to," said Marisol as she peered into a mirror to check her appearance.

" But you can hide yours far easier," he retorted as he watched her intently.

" Yeah right, not in this business," said Marisol as Hua walked over and told Marisol that they were on in one. Marisol nodded her assent and Hua left the way she came from, but not before eyeing the young man and shooting Marisol a 'who is he and what is he doing here?' look.

When Hua had walked out of sight, Marisol sighed and said, "Look, who ever you are, just stay here and don't move. I've got two more performances to do and after that Margan will see to you. I've got to go".

After Marisol walked off, Zuko was at a loss. He didn't know his way around and he certainly didn't want to be waiting like an idiot. Marisol had already made him feel like a bumbling idiot and he wasn't too proud the she, a girl, had been able to do that to him.

So, in a twisted way of revenge, Zuko ignored what Marisol had told him and started to walk in the same direction she had left in. He spent what felt like several minutes running into dead ends and when he believed himself totally lost, the music started to play. He was able to follow the sound of the music and he ended up in the left wing of the stage.

All the girls were dancing in the same hoochie outfits he saw Marisol sport and they were more or less synchronized because he noticed that the girl furthest from him had lost her place a little. As he continued watching her, Zuko noticed the girl next to her, the same one that had warned Marisol that she had one minute till stage time noted Zuko, extend her leg a little further than necessary and 'kicked' the one out of sync. Immediately, he noticed that the one that was off corrected her erratic movements.

Zuko was impressed that he caught that and it inspired him to keep looking for more signs between the dancers.

By the time the song ended and the girls had scampered off to change into their next outfit, Zuko had caught at least forty covert messages. The only problem was that he didn't know what half of them meant…


	12. Chapter 12 Tent Visits

I don't own Avatar because if I did, we wouldn't have to wait till September for the next movie-thingy. Oh, and I don't own the song I threw in there, either; the song is called Tainted Love by Soft Cell. Also, I owe a thank you to lenlen46.

"My feet hurt," complained Afina as she pulled off her gold tone six inch heels, a requirement for the finally.

"I hurt everywhere!" chimed Isadora before plopping down on a cushion and looking over at Marisol. "Marisol," she continued, "why in your goddess's name are you destroying your beaded slippers?"

"The stupid things are broken beyond repair so I'm taking the liberty of helping myself to the beads because, well, you know how Margan is with money. Especially where we are concerned," replied Marisol as she ferociously cut at a thread with a very small penknife.

"Yes, we know that stingy miser too well," sighed Hua, "A regular scrooge".

"Wait, Marisol, if that's your only pair of shoes what are you going to wear?" asked Lily with loving concern.

"Nothing… I'll just be bare foot everywhere I go," replied Marisol with a small shake of her head.

"Oh no, watch out! Marisol is going true Earth girl style! Quick everyone, hide! It's the end of the world!" joked Isadora, provoking half smiles all around.

"You…" laughed Marisol as she flung a pillow at Isadora's head. But Isadora dodged it at it ended up hitting Kiyomi full in the face.

"Hey!" protested Kiyomi as she flung a pillow at Marisol, but Kiyomi was a really bad shot and it flew over to Hua, where it hit her in the side of her head.

"Ow! Who hit me!" demanded Hua, pillow in hand. Of course, no one fessed up- but that didn't stop them from pointing to one another. "Really?" continued Hua as she walked over to Marisol.

Marisol, who was busy pointing at Afina, didn't really notice Hua coming closer with her 'deadly weapon' until it was too late. With one swing of the pillow, Marisol was knocked off balance and fell on her side.

"Oh, that's it!" yelled Marisol as she grabbed her own pillow and swung up at Hua, hitting not only her but Lily and Isadora as well.

In no time at all, the tent was filled with flying pillows and screams from those hit in the crossfire. The entire fight lasted a good half hour and when they were done the tent looked like a war zone. Wait a sec; it was a war zone wasn't it? Oh never mind, back to the story….

All the girls were so wiped out from the battle, no one said a thing. They just lay there sprawled on the floor or, if they were lucky and managed to land on one, on a cushion or two.

"So why do you think we're here?" asked Kiyomi in a tired voice, breaking the silence entirely, "I mean, the last time we were here, Marisol joined the group. It seems that every time we come here, Margan buys a new girl to add…"

Her question was met with silence until Isadora said gravely with a somber shake of her head, "Way to go Captain Kill Joy".

"I'm sure it means nothing Marisol," reassured Hua softly, "You're the best we've ever seen, there's no he's going to replace you".

"I'm sure you're right, for now… but what about in a few years? I can't stay the best forever, I know that there are better looking girls out there and I know there are also better dancers out there. My…time… will come someday," said Marisol as she blinked back tears and picked the knife and her slipper back up, "It's just a miracle you guys aren't 'busy' tonight".

"About that…" started Afina, but was cut off by another young man entering the tent.

"Ladies!" he cried, "You were sizzling up there, especially you _Marisol_".

The girls shared a collective groan of displeasure and some one muttered, "I think I'm going to be sick…"

From her corner, Akina said sharply, "Don't you have anything better to do than bug us, Hazo?"

"No," he replied before walking over to where Marisol sat on the floor.

"What do you want now?" asked Marisol tersely without looking up from her work.

"Oh nothing, just curious as to why you're destroying your slippers," replied Hazo as he sat down next to her without invitation, "So, Mari, how's it…"

"Don't. Call. Me. That." snapped Marisol angrily as she shot him a death glare, "I hate being called that".

"Oh sorry dear, I'll keep that in mind next time," he replied as he scooted closer to her.

"You're invading my personal space," growled Marisol, knife in hand.

"Really? I intend to get closer to you… much closer… with nothing in the way… not even our clothing…" he whispered as he leaned in closer and closer to her.

"Uhh… yeah, about that…" was all Marisol managed to get out because she too was leaning, away from Hazo.

Fortunately, Marisol's luck had stayed with her because Margan opened the flap to the tent and saw what Hazo was doing.

"Hazo! Get away from her and get back to work! If you weren't so useful, I would have fired you ages ago! Now get your lazy arse back to work!" yelled Margan and Hazo scrambled to comply.

As soon as the creep was out the door, Marisol sighed and said, "Finally, I have space to breathe! Thanks Margan, I owe you one".

"Good, because I'll be cashing that favor now. Marisol I'll be bringing some one by your tent in about twenty minutes," said Margan with a 'no buts posture'. Marisol didn't care, she complained anyway.

"Margan! You know I don't do that!" cried Marisol as she got up to go outside the tent for a bit more privacy.

"He said he doesn't want that, he just…wants to talk," replied Margan apologetically.

"Fine," retorted Marisol as she crossed her arms over her chest, "But it doesn't mean I have to like it, and if he tries anything, I swear, I'll knock him out".

"He won't," assured Margan before saying, "Oh, and before I get there with him, clean up your tent a little would ya? It always looks like a tornado blew in".

Marisol rolled her eyes and said, "_Fine…_" Margan seemed satisfied with her answer so he turned and left.

Marisol stood there for a few minutes more to let him get a head start, all the while making faces of irritation with mocking noises. After she was tired of her 'game' she decided to let the other girls know where she had to go.

As she lifted the flap, Lily called out, "Well, what did he want?"

Marisol sighed and explained the situation to them. They just nodded, obviously relieved that she wasn't going to be on call…yet.

"Wait, do you think it was the same one I saw back stage?" asked Hua.

"Most likely," replied Marisol with a small shake of her head.

"We wish you luck that he's not a creep," said Afina with a smile.

"Please don't try to seduce him…" said Hua, "We have enough trouble already".

"Geez, I thought you knew me better than that Hua!" said Marisol with mock disappointment, "Come on, I don't try… I seduce or I don't".

"Well, don't," said Kiyomi firmly.

"I won't," promised Marisol, "Man, who'd believe I have not one but SIX mothers telling me what not to do! I'm a big girl guys, I can take care of myself".

"Okay, _big girl_, take the knife. Just in case," said Akina as she held the handle of the blade to Marisol.

"_Thanks_ _mommy_," replied Marisol with a smile, but Akina shooed her off explaining that Margan would let her have it if he arrived at her tent, with the visitor, and she wasn't there. That said, Marisol took her leave of the ladies with a smile.

As she turned to walk away, Isadora began singing, "_Take my tears and_ _that's not nearly all…"_

"Oh stop it, Isadora, that's not funny right now," scolded Kiyomi only to be rebuked by Hua.

"You started it with that comment of yours, Captain Kill Joy".

"I didn't do it purposely like _someone_ here! It was an honest mistake!"

The bickering continued and Marisol yelled, "See you later," but she wasn't sure if they heard her over their own collective din.

As soon as Marisol was swallowed up by the darkness, another figure approached the illuminated rest tent.

When he arrived at the entrance of the tent, he pulled off his mask and tentatively pushed the door flap aside to look in. The noisy chatter that he heard as he came closer suddenly stopped when he moved the fabric out of his way. When he finally put his head in, he couldn't help but look around. The tent was full of cushions to lounge on but the were strewn every which way on the floor and the cushions looked like they had seen better days, as did the carpet on the floor.

"Can I help you?" asked one girl sharply from her cushion.

"I…uh… was looking for someone. I …I thought she might be here," stammered the young man in reply.

"Who?" asked another girl.

"What?" asked the young man. He obviously hadn't paid attention to her question.

"_Who_ are you _looking_ for?" repeated the girl in a tone of annoyance.

"Oh…I'm… looking for a girl, named… Marisol…" he said, "Have any of you…uh…seen her recently?"

His question was answered with shocked silence, then, slowly, the girls gave each other looks of sheer pleasure. That in turn became a collective fit of the giggles.

"Wait…did you say you were looking for Marisol?" asked yet another girl. The young man nodded dumbly and that set them off again.

"That rule breaker!" laughed one, while another said, "It's so unlike her!"

The sound of their joyous babble was deafening. Just to possibly be heard, the young man shouted, "Does anyone know where I might find her?"

A different girl, one he hadn't noticed before and was obviously Fire Nation, calmly walked over and said, loud enough to hear over the noise of the others, "Don't mind them, they just didn't think it possible for innocent Marisol to be so bad in one day. My name's Akina by the way. Well, to answer your question, you can find her in her tent. Better hurry, she's expecting company".

"Thanks," said the young man as he turned to leave but paused and turned back and asked, "How will I know it's her tent?"

"She's the only one with the purple and blue striped tent," replied Akina before she too turned to walk away. But just like the young man, turned back and said, "Oh, and don't tell Marisol I helped you find her… it's not good for my image".

"Okay. Thanks again…" he said as she pushed him out of the tent and abruptly closed the flap on him, "I think…"


	13. Chapter 13 Hide, Don't Seek

Ha! Someone owes me some Earth Nation gold coins! ...you know who you are... If you don't _pay up_ soon I'll go glowy on yo' arse! Ha! Take that!

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When Marisol got to her tent, the only thing she did to clean up was hang up her work clothes that were strewn about the floor. The rest of the items that Margan would consider as clutter were shoved under her bed, that is, if it could even be considered a real bed. All it really was was an old, moldy straw mattress on a stone platform of Marisol's doing. Ever since they had traveled to that one ratty little town in the middle of nowhere that was infested with snakes, rats, and even scorpions, she had this thing about sleeping directly on the floor.

When Marisol deemed her room 'decent', she decided to calm down a bit and at least _try_ to relax. Strangely, the only thing, that she knew of anyway, that was soothing to her nerves was brushing her hair out.

But, as soon as she had sat down on her bed and had pulled the brush through once, she thought she heard someone call her name softly. Marisol froze and listened for it, but she didn't hear anything. She shrugged it off and continued to brush out her thick hair but again the voice called her name; this time it was louder and a little more desperate. There was no mistaking it, that voice was defiantly male.

"…Marisol…" he called again, making her pause half way through a brush stroke, "…Marisol! Is this even her tent? Marisol!"

Heck, Marisol needed no further prompting. She immediately put down the brush, hopped of the bed and moved silently over to the entrance of her tent. As soon as she got there, she positioned herself where she could see him outside, but he couldn't see her.

She spotted him almost instantly because he was just outside her tent flap with an anxious look on his face, a carnival mask in hand, and to top it off he was wearing _the_ most outlandish garb Marisol had ever seen. He totally didn't fit into the surroundings, he seemed out of place for a Fire Nation carnival. Based on this, and the fact that he was no older than she was, Marisol deemed him 'mostly harmless' and pulled him inside by the wrist before he could make any more noise.

He was dazed from the sudden light change and from being pulled into the tent without any formality and muttered, "So it _was_ the right tent…"

Thinking quickly, Marisol spotted the penknife on the crate she used as a nightstand and snatched it up. "Okay mister, who the hell are you and what do you want with me?" growled Marisol as she held the knife as menacingly as possible for such a small blade.

Something must have been funny to him, probably the sight of Marisol threatening him with one of the smallest blades on the face of the earth, because he started laughing. Pretty soon, he was gasping for air he was laughing so hard and when he bent over to regain his breath, Marisol saw his blade _and_ his boomerang and blanched.

"No wonder he's laughing at me…" she thought just as a plan hatched in her mind.

Before he could stand up straight, Marisol shifted her grip on the knife and threw it between feet, landing in the dirt floor point first. Granted, it wasn't very hard to do with such a tiny blade but it still looked pretty impressive. And though the move had left her weapon-less, save her bending abilities, it produced the desired effect on him. As he stood looking down at the knife, his posture went from relaxed to rigid with shock and fear. In her mind's eye, Marisol was able to picture his facial expression at that second and almost laughed at the image. She imagined him with his eyes bulging out and his mouth hanging open; in fact, when he finally looked up at her, Marisol saw that she was right and nearly laughed again but was able to turn her grin into a snarl at the last possible second.

"Ah! Don't hurt me!" he cried and she stepped closer to him, green eyes glittering coldly.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" she repeated slowly, just in case he was hard of hearing or maybe just too thick to understand what she was saying. Though, Marisol had a feeling that he was the second and not the first option, but that was her thought.

"Don't hurt me…" he said again as he took a step back to get away from her eyes, they freaked him out more than her tense posture or her hands balled into fists.

"I won't, as long as you answer me and soon," she replied crossly before moving to sit, stiffly, on her bed and crossing her arms over he chest.

"We've met before… today actually…" he stammered nervously before pausing to see if she remembered him on her own. But she remained silent; she just drummed her fingers impatiently on her arm. "I'm Sokka, remember? You called me a Fire Nation-er and… and my sister helped you fill your pot with water," he said in a great rush and was at once relieved to see her relax.

"Why didn't you just answer me the first time I asked you?" Marisol asked with a sigh.

"Sorry, but when you pulled that tiny thing on me, I couldn't help it…" replied Sokka with a shrug, "Geez, you weren't that mean when I first met you in the forest".

Marisol laughed and said, "Well, you weren't some creepy weirdo hanging around my tent then, and I was preoccupied with… other things". Sokka scuffed the floor sheepishly and Marisol continued, "By the way, how did you find my tent?"

"I found the other tent with everyone else in it and I asked them," responded Sokka with a self-congratulatory smile.

"Who's _them_?" asked Marisol with a raised eyebrow. She didn't think that she was going to like the next answer Sokka was going to give her.

"The other dancers I mean…" he replied and Marisol slapped her forehead with her palm.

"_Great_," sighed Marisol with a shake of her head.

"I wasn't supposed to do that? Should I have gone to someone else?" asked Sokka in bewilderment.

"No, they were the safest ones to go to so you could find me, but they are _not_ going to let me live this one down," she replied as she kneaded her red forehead with her right hand.

"Normally I don't…" started Marisol but stopped abruptly. Nothing had interrupted her; she had paused on her own and got this spacey look on her face. Without any further comment, she got up and poked her head out the door.

The first thing she saw was Hazo walking past a few yards off. He caught her looking and smiled. She just shot him a poison-laced death glare in return before craning her head to see if someone was coming. Sure enough, Margan was walking up with the same young man from her performance.

"Crap!" she muttered as she pulled her head back in and turned to Sokka, "Margan's on his way, with company! You've got to hide!"

Bewildered, Sokka looked around, threw up his hands and frantically said, "Where?"

Now it was Marisol's turn to look about, and she didn't exactly like what she saw. There was virtually no place to hide him, except…

"Quickly, under my bed…" whispered Marisol urgently as she pushed Sokka over to her bed, an act Marisol never thought she'd do unless she married the sucker first.

"Under your bed?" repeated Sokka loudly as he resisted Marisol's pushes and his face developed a nervous tick.

"Shh!" she chided sharply in return, "Yes under my bed, smart one. You don't fit anywhere else!"

"I have a thing about enclosed spaces like that. It really started with the Cave of the Two…" complained Sokka but was cut off by Marisol who was almost desperate to hide him.

"I'm sure it's a lovely story, but now's not the time!" cried Marisol before knocking Sokka's feet out from beneath him and shoving him brusquely under her bed.

"Ouch!" cried Sokka loudly from his impromptu hiding spot.

"Shh!" chided Marisol, "Don't make ANY noise or we're both dead! Got it?"

"Got it," whispered Sokka and Marisol just shushed him again as she hopped onto her bed and tried to calm down.

Just as she got her heart rate and breathing under check, a knock came from outside her door on the barrel of rain water used for washing up. There was no need to ask who it was, for she already knew it was Margan.

Marisol took one last deep breath and thought, "Here we go…" before calling, "Come in!"


	14. Chapter 14 Meetings

Finally I've updated! Stupid computer wouldn't let me for the longest time. Well, I hope you like it…and if you do, please review! hey that rhymed… Oh yeah, and I don't own Avatar because if I did, I'd smack Ty Lee upside her empty head. If you don't agree with my feelings…too bad, I'm not changing my mind.

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Zuko wasn't sure if Margan had actually taken him to Marisol's tent or if he was trying to pull a fast one because the entire situation seemed too easy. He felt that if Marisol was, in fact, Margan's 'crown jewel' why then did he agree to Zuko's request to meet her with minimal argument? If she really was so important to him, why did Margan agree at all?

When they paused outside the entrance of the only lit tent, Zuko was almost certain that Margan had led him into a trap. So when Margan knocked on the wooden water barrel next to the door of the tent, Zuko's nerves were as tense as his muscles. He was obviously anticipating a fight and his body reacted by going into the 'Fight or Flight' mode.

What he wasn't expecting was Marisol's voice to answer Margan's knock.

"Come in," she called from somewhere in the tent. With this, Zuko was at a loss. He never imagined that Margan would be totally honest in his deal.

"You better wait out here for a second, just to make sure she doesn't have any nasty surprises waiting for you," said Margan hesitantly before stepping into the tent.

If Marisol and Margan's conversation was meant to be secret, they sure didn't bother to lower their voices, because Zuko heard every word that transpired between the two.

"Took you long enough," said Marisol, " You said you'd be by in half an hour. It's been more like forty-five minutes!"

"Only fifteen minutes late," replied Margan, "And that should have given you more than enough time to clean. It looks like a war zone!"

"I did clean… some," complained Marisol, but Margan wasn't having any of it.

"It doesn't look that way to me," retorted Margan, "And Marisol, why is that knife in the floor like that?"

"I…uh…I was…frustrated… That's right, I was frustrated and a… a rat happened to be scuttling across the floor at the moment so I threw the only thing on hand at him, that knife," lied Marisol.

"A rat?" asked Margan speculatively. Zuko himself didn't believe her story.

"That's right, a big ugly rat. I threw it at him but I missed and the stupid thing got away unscathed," elaborated Marisol.

"A rat?" repeated Margan with a grunt. Zuko assumed he had bent over to retrieve said blade before continuing, "you sure you didn't throw it at Hazo and miss? That would be somewhat forgivable".

Zuko thought she was going to deny throwing it at the other guy, making it obvious that she like him. But, wouldn't you know it, Zuko was shocked to hear her laugh.

"No," she chuckled, "If I was to throw a knife at Hazo, I'd make sure I wouldn't miss. Anyway, how can ANYONE possibly miss such a big bu- target- like that?"

Both of them chuckled at her jest, and Zuko realized that neither of them likes Hazo a whole lot.

After an odd silence, Margan cleared his throat and said, "Well, I better let your visitor in before he freezes… and I'll be taking this with me".

"Oh come on Margan! I use that knife a ton!" protested Marisol.

"Really? For what?" retorted Margan.

"For…" said Marisol, deep in thought. Then, with a snap of her fingers, exclaimed, "Warding off unwanted visitors!"

Zuko wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a faint snicker. The only thing was that it didn't sound like it came from either of them.

"Did you hear that?" asked Margan.

"Must be Hazo listening behind my tent," replied Marisol, "It wouldn't be the first time he's been caught back there".

Margan wasn't convinced, so he stuck his head out the door and asked Zuko, "Did you snicker?"

Zuko shook his head 'no' and thought, "So there's an audience…"

"Well, you better come in boy. The Gods know I've kept you out there long enough," said Margan with a shake of his head.

Zuko, despite all he had heard, still had trepidation as to going in and talking to Marisol.

"Come on boy, she doesn't bite," said Margan when Zuko barely moved.

"Yeah, that's right," called Marisol from her spot on her bed, "I don't bite… hard…"

Margan sighed and made a threatening motion to Marisol as he ushered Zuko in. Marisol did her best to pretend to ignore Margan's word-less threat but she knew that she was in for it in the morning.

"Don't mind her, she's just as uncomfortable as you are," said Margan quietly to Zuko in an effort to get him to ease up a bit.

Marisol heard what he said and felt it her duty to scold Margan for his insensitive remark, even if she'd get it worse later.

"Of course we're uncomfortable!" she scolded, "I'm forced to leave my friends and meet some Fire Nation guy, and he must think that this entire 'meeting' is fishy".

Margan glared at her, but Marisol wasn't through just yet. She turned to Zuko and asked, "Am I right, or what?"

Zuko nodded and glanced at Margan before saying, "Exactly".

When Zuko answered, Margan realized that he was out numbered in the argument and so he chose to ignore Marisol's lecture. All he said before he turned and left was, "Marisol, this is Zuko. Zuko, Marisol. I'll be back in thirty minutes to call the meeting to a close".

Marisol chose to answer to Margan by making a face to Margan's turned back. When Marisol felt that Margan was out of hearing range, she turned to Zuko and sighed, "Well, this is awkward, isn't it?"

Zuko smirked and said, "Not very fond of him are you?"

"How'd you guess?" replied Marisol with a smile as she moved over on her bed to make room for Zuko to sit. But, it seemed that once he took the proffered seat, the flow of conversation stopped.

Not that their conversation was all _that_ interesting, but it still was a conversation…

After several false starts on both their parts, Marisol managed to spit out, "I'll be blunt and to the point. Why are you here? I mean, why did you want to talk to me?"

Zuko didn't immediately reply because, as many times as he'd asked himself those same questions, he never found an answer the truly satisfied him.

Finally, he settled on something that might get him somewhere, "I need some answers and I feel you can give me what I want".

Hey, I said that his question might get him somewhere; I didn't say it was brilliant.

"Right…" was Marisol's reply, "Try anything else, and you'll be incapable of carrying on your blood line. Got it?"

To lend credibility to her threat, Marisol's eyes held a cold, deadly glint in them. And, not that Zuko would know, but it was the same stare she had levered effectively against Sokka.

"Just answers," said Zuko calmly, trying not to let his nerves show. He tried to put on his business face, but couldn't completely because her gaze was so unsettling.

"Fine…" she replied coldly and when she saw him squirm ever so minutely under her scrutiny, she smiled and said, "Uncomfortable? Ha, I've had plenty of practice to perfect that stare on my older brother. The only problem was he'd push me and tell me to knock it off when I'd creeped him out enough".

"You have an older brother?" asked Zuko as politely as he could, since he wasn't one for small talk.

"Had," corrected Marisol sadly, "I had a brother. His name was Mamoru".

"What happened to him?" asked Zuko even though he already had an idea of what happened.

"He…I…" tried Marisol, but it was obviously too hard for her to say aloud to a person she just met.

After a second of silence, Marisol shook her head, as if to clear unpleasant memories, and said, "I'd rather not go there right now… What was it you wanted to ask me?"

"Right," said Zuko as he made an internal note about how uncomfortable Marisol felt about the subject of her brother. It was a habit that Zuko found to be useful every once and a great while.

"I wanted to know why you seem so familiar to me. Why do I feel like I should know who you are? Why does it feel like I've met you before and talked with you, even though we barely met for the first time?"

"Hmm…" said Marisol with her chin in her hand, " I wonder if you really are who I think you are. If you are, then you obviously don't remember".

That caught not only Zuko's attention, but Sokka's as well.

Down in his hiding place, Sokka inhaled sharply in surprise. The only problem was that it was dusty down there and he sneezed in reaction to it.

"Bless you," grumbled Zuko. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts to realize that Marisol hadn't moved and that the sound came not from her but from under the bed.

"Thank you," replied Marisol with a smile as she mentally kicked Sokka in the rear, "Allergy season…"

"What do you mean I don't remember?" demanded Zuko. He didn't want to waste any more time on casual, frivolous talk.

"Well if you are the Zuko I'm thinking of then you obviously don't remember the letters, the pictures, the secrets…" she replied before waiting to see if he remembered any of it.

"Nope, you don't remember. IF you are the person I'm thinking of, then I was supposed to stay with your family for the summer, but things… went wrong," whispered Marisol as she was forced to relive old memories she had tried to forget, "That was, what, four or five years ago? Not recent at all…"

"Letters?" said Zuko with his one eyebrow raised; "I never wrote letters to anyone on a regular basis, much less to a girl like you".

"A girl like me? What is there something wrong with me, or is it that I'm a girl?" retorted Marisol sharply.

Zuko ignored her comment and continued, "And pictures? You think I sent you one of myself?"

"Again, if you're the person I think you are. If you're the son of Ursa and Ozai, now Fire Lord Ozai, then yes you sent me one," replied Marisol angrily. She hated it when others questioned her honesty.

The fact that she knew who he was, and at the same time didn't know who he was caught Zuko off guard, but he wasn't going to let her know.

"Let me see it," he demanded.

"I don't have it anymore," huffed Marisol.

"You don't have it anymore. Hmm…and why don't you have it anymore?" pressed Zuko. Even though she claimed to know him, didn't mean that she was telling the truth. He thought that she was lying up a storm, just because she had made claims that she couldn't support.

"I don't have it anymore because they took it from me," replied Marisol in a condescending tone. Her opinion of Zuko had changed rapidly from disinterest to strong dislike.

"Who's '_they'_?" questioned Zuko, still not believing the credibility of her story.

"I'm not exactly sure who they are. I think the bastards were Fire Nation arse-holes that were hired by the damn Fire…" started Marisol heatedly, but wouldn't you know it, Margan chose that moment in time to butt in.

"Sorry kids, but your time is up," stated Margan in a tone that said that there'd be NO discussion on the subject of extending the time, what so ever.

To Zuko, it was too soon because he still hadn't gotten all his answers out of Marisol.

Marisol, on the other hand, felt that Margan hadn't come soon enough. The meeting had been fine until the prick started to question her reliability. "Who's he to just waltz up here, demanding answers to obscure questions, then discredit everything I say? Jerk doesn't even know when someone is helping him; even if he asked for the help in the first place!" thought Marisol furiously.

And what did Sokka think? True, the information surprised him, but he currently just wanted to get out from under the dusty bed as soon as humanly possible.

"It was nice meeting you Zuko," said Marisol sweetly, though her body language said the exact opposite.

"Likewise," replied Zuko stiffly as he rose from her bed and left without further comment.

Margan gave an inquiring look to Marisol, but she glared at him and said, "Never again".

"I won't ask how it went then," replied Margan as he followed Zuko's example and left Marisol's tent for his own.

After a minute of medative silence, Marisol hopped off her bed with a sigh and began to change into her sleeping clothes, making sure to keep close to her bed to prevent Sokka from seeing too much.

Marisol was nearly dressed when Sokka started to 'come back to life'.

"Hang on a sec, Sokka. Let me just finish getting dressed and I'll help you out," explained Marisol as she dragged a shirt over her head. Sokka responded with a muffled exclamation of surprise, but he listened to Marisol and stayed put.

Fortunately for Sokka, Marisol finished in record time and nearly scared him to death when she suddenly crouched down and asked him if he was ready.

"More than ready," replied Sokka with a groaning sigh of relief as her hands locked with his and she began to drag him out.

As soon as most of Sokka's upper body was out, Marisol tried to pull harder but ended up losing her footing and falling butt, hard. "Ouch!" exclaimed Marisol from the pain, "Dang you're heavy, can't you get yourself out now?"

"Technically, I could have gotten myself out a long time ago, but you were doing such a great job…I didn't want to spoil your fun," replied Sokka casually.

"Fun?" cried Marisol as she stood back up, "Do you really think I did that for fun? Okay, wise guy, you're on your own now".

"Fine, party pooper. I hope you're happy now," protested Sokka as he wriggled out of the tight space. Marisol just stood there with a satisfied smile on her face.

"You like to see me suffer, don't you?" said Sokka when he was totally out from under the bed and had flopped over on his stomach.

"Me?" replied Marisol innocently, "Why, whatever gave you that idea?"

All Sokka had to do was look at her and both of them started laughing like retards. The worst part was that when they'd calm down, one of them would start up again and set off the other. It was the oddest fit of the giggles that either had ever experienced.

Finally, when they had their laughter under control, Marisol said, "You better get up, or some people will get the wrong impression".

"Naw, who?" joked Sokka as he began pulling himself together and started to get up. At that point, he was on his hands and knees like a baby… or, depending on how sick your mind is, like a totally whipped person…

"Just hurry up please," replied Marisol uneasily, "You never can tell who'll just pop in unexpected".

As if to prove Marisol right, Isadora's head popped in the door and said, "So bad girl, how did… NO WAY! Damn girl, I know he's your first and all but go easy on him or he won't come back!"

Marisol and Sokka looked at each other and shared a common thought, "Oh Damn!"

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Random thought here. If Fire Nation people, especially fire benders, live on a volcanic island and manipulate HOT fire, why are they rice white? Does that make sense to you, because it doesn't to me.


	15. Chapter 15 New Friends

What is with you people? You haven't reviewed in such a looong time! …sad face... Please, show me some love and review, or I'll cry like there's no tomorrow. Just ask my cousin, she knows I'll do it.

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"Well, don't leave him like _that_ Marisol, or he won't come back!" chided Isadora with a grin. She knew very well when she had crossed the line from being a funny to being a big pain in the keister; and right about now, she was teetering on that fine line between the two. More to the big pain in the keister side, if you ask me… But no one did so I'll just shut up now and continue on with the story…

"What is it Isadora?" called Lily from somewhere behind Isadora, "Who were you referring to with those comments?"

"See for yourself," answered Isadora with a huge, wicked smile and a wink in Marisol's direction. Though whether it was for Marisol or for Sokka, only Isadora knows.

"Lily, NO!" cried Marisol, but it was too late. Lily had already put her head into the spot Isadora had just vacated.

"Wait, you're the boy who asked us where Marisol was!" Lily blurted without thinking much, a habit she picked up from Kiyomi.

Sokka made to protest that he wasn't a mere boy, but Marisol beat him to the punch and said, "Yes, he's the same guy. Now both of you get inside before Margan sees this powwow and comes to investigate."

"Or rather hears it," commented Akina from outside the door. She was politer than the other two and didn't stick her head into other people's tents uninvited; though you wouldn't ever know she was politer if you judged her solely on her previous behavior.

"How many of you guys are still out there?" asked Sokka who was still a little rattled from Isadora's sudden appearance.

"Oh, just the rest of us," joked Afina as she sauntered into the door with Hua, Kiyomi and Akina following I her wake. Once everyone was standing in the tent, the volume on their chatter increased about ten fold.

"Hey! HEY!" shouted Marisol. But it made no difference, so, instead, she tried to whistle loudly to get their attention. Unfortunately, after several attempts she remembered that she couldn't whistle. Period.

"Can you whistle loudly?" shouted Marisol to Sokka. He just shook his head and motioned that he couldn't hear her before being pulled into the group of girls by the wrist. "Oh never mind…" muttered Marisol as she picked up a pillow and started swinging it at random girls in front of her.

Several 'ouches' and hair bruising hits later, she managed to get the others to finally settle down. "Geez! I finally was able to get you guys quieter!" sighed Marisol in exasperation.

"OUCH!" complained Afina as she rubbed her head were Marisol had hit her with the pillow.

"You baby," laughed Marisol in response as she pulled Sokka over to her side and clearing her throat, "Ladies, I would like to introduce to you my-"

"-Boy toy!" interjected Isadora with a smirk. Both Sokka and Marisol blushed, though Sokka blushed harder than Marisol did.

"No, he's my friend. His name is Sokka," corrected Marisol, still blushing from head to toe. "Why don't the rest of you introduce yourselves, like you should have?"

"Fine, I'll go first," beamed Isadora, "I'm Isadora and I believe in the Avatar."

"Lovely," said Akina facetiously, "Well, since we're playing the name game, I'm Akina and I could care less about the Avatar."

"She doesn't mean it," said Hua, "I'm Hua by the by, and I can't bend any element. Though if I had a choice I'd be an air bender, like the Avatar…sigh…"

"Girl, get your head out of the clouds!" cried Lily, "I'm Lily and I'm the oldest of the bunch."

"Yeah, she acts like an over bearing mom most of the time too," giggled Afina, "Afina is my name and I believe I'm destined for greater things."

"Like what? Being the servant of a servant of a servant of the Fire Lord?" joked Kiyomi, "I'm Kiyomi and I…I…I like grapes."

"Random, I know but I have to put up with them, they're like family," said Marisol in a loud whisper so everyone heard. She was replied with eyes being rolled, groans, and weak giggles. As soon as the other girls decided that Marisol was done with all the intro crud, they began to ask Sokka questions at the same time, and at the rate of a zillion questions per second, per girl. Yeah, noisy begin to cover the sound of their racket.

As soon as the girls, excluding Marisol, were seated, Kiyomi reached up and pulled on Sokka's arm to sit next to her.

"Hey, thief!" joked Marisol and from the far side of the room, a shoe flew threw the air and hit Marisol in the back of her head. Glaring didn't help solve the problem of who threw it because they weren't focused on her; all their attention was on Sokka. To top it off, the shoe pretty much 'disappeared' as soon as it hit the floor, leaving Marisol at a loss for something to do.

Sokka, on the other hand, was basking in the girls' attention. Never had so many pairs of female eyes been fixed on him in a way that practically screamed, 'you are a god'. Okay, so maybe that was how he chose to interpret their looks as, but he still loved it. He didn't really care that they were older than he was, they were still really pretty ladies who enjoyed listening to his _heroic stories_. Yes, most of those stories stretched to truth a bit, or a lot, but he wasn't going to tell them that.

"So, how did you get here?" asked Afina eagerly.

"Who cares how he got here, my question is if he's single," replied Kiyomi as she scooted closer to him, "We Water folk need to stick together, you know."

"Oh really? Then what am I, blubbered seal jerky?" retorted Afina hotly.

"Why don't you forget about those bickering hags," cooed Isadora as she moved Sokka's face to look at her with two fingers, "Have you ever kissed an Earth girl?"

"Hey Isadora, you already have a love interest!" cried Lily.

"And so do you!" retorted Hua, "I, on the other hand, am free of any bond to another. And Margan doesn't count!"

"Ladies!" intervened Sokka just before the arguing turned into a fistfight, "There's enough Sokka to go around!"

That set them off yet again because they began to grab Sokka's attention, literally. To get him just to look at them, the girls started playing tug-o-war with Sokka's limbs.

"Some guy you have there," said Akina as she suddenly appeared next to Marisol.

"He's really nothing more than an acquaintance. In all honesty, I barely know him," replied Marisol as she sat down on her bed and motioned for Akina to join her.

"How did you two meet?" asked Akina, looking over at poor Sokka as he was being stretched further than previously thought humanly possible. Marisol happily retold her the story of what had happened to her earlier that day.

"So he has a sister huh?" asked Akina when the tale was over.

"Yup, and a water bender to boot. I'll bet she's over protective of him…" replied Marisol slyly with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm…" said Akina before shouting, "Hey, he has a bender sister!"

As soon as the other girls heard, they let go of Sokka so fast, it made his head spin.

"What? Why did you let go? Not that I'm not grateful you did let go, but why so suddenly?" asked Sokka.

"Sorry deary, but you're too young for most of us and we don't mess around with benders or their kin," explained Isadora with a smile.

"But we still like your stories," exclaimed Lily eagerly.

"Yeah, tell us another!" begged Kiyomi as she scooted closer to Sokka once more, but not as close as she had been last time. Sokka was only too happy to comply with their requests.

"Well, have I told you girls about the time I tamed TWO wild badger moles in tunnels that are known to be cursed?" asked Sokka smugly.

"No not yet! Please tell us that one, oh please!" implored Hua.

As Sokka told his story, Akina shook her head and said, "They never stop do they? Oh well, at least they aren't pulling him like a rag doll anymore."

"Amen!" agreed Marisol whole-heartedly with a smile before listening to the rest of the story.

"…And that was how I tamed two wild badger moles and saved the crazy nomads from the cursed tunnels," beamed Sokka proudly.

"Wow," sighed Afina in awe, "that was so brave of you! Tell us another story!"

"Please!" chimed Kiyomi, Hua and Isadora together.

"No, I couldn't…" said Sokka modestly and got sad, puppy-dog faces from his audience. "Well, I don't know which story to tell you next. How am I to choose?"

"I know," butted in Marisol, "How about we play a game of cards?"

"Oh no!" protested Hua unhappily with a rude noise, "I want to hear another story!"

"What game?" asked Isadora hopefully as she ignored Hua's comment, "Because if it's Go Fish, Kiyomi cheats."

"I learned from the best, cheater sensei," retorted Kiyomi with a smile and a mock bow.

"And you've learned much, young Grasshopper, but not enough. Next time keep you mouth shut, _deary_," replied Isadora with a mock wise man voice as she shook her finger at her 'pupil'.

"How about…Three Nation War?" suggested Lily optimistically.

"No no, how about Three Nation War _Torture!_" exclaimed Afina with a clap of her hands.

"War? Torture? Whaaat?" cried Sokka with huge eyes.

"It's okay, silly!" said Marisol as she sat next to him, forcing Isadora to scoot over, "It's just a game. Well, except…"

"Except? Except what?" asked Sokka fearfully.

"Except the torture part, that's actually real. Let's just say that if you lose, you'll be in pain for a while," said Kiyomi, "So don't lose."

Before they began playing, Marisol took a few minutes to explain the rather complicated rules to Sokka until he had them down pat.

"Here goes nothing," sighed Sokka as Akina put down the first card of the game.

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Dang that was a long chapter...took me forever to write. I'll be sure to update as soon as my busy Senior schedule allows.


	16. Chapter 16 Three Nation War

Dang. As soon as I figure out a nice plot with the characters, the animators have to throw me a curve ball. And this isn't the first time too. Plus, I think they have mind readers in their employment because, I swear, I feel they stole an idea from me BEFORE I posted it here. Oh yeah, and I don't own Avatar, yadda yadda yadda… and I'd like to thank Burning Tree for the review. Thankee kindly my darling who is 'cheating' on me with everyone in your group and mine. XD

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As the game rolled on, Kiyomi lost first and Sokka cringed when she was 'tortured'.

The torture process is like this: first the 'victim' picks a random card out of the deck and puts it back; then the 'victim' shuffles the deck and hands it to the person on their right. The 'victim' then says "top" or "bottom". Lets say that, for example, the loser chose top. Then the person on their right hand side with go through the deck and finds the loser's card. Once the card is located, the number and types of cards above the loser's card details what the punishment is. Types, you ask? Well, each different suit means a different 'torture'. A heart equals to a slap on the hand, a diamond equals a flick on the forehead, a club equals to you foot being smashed by the other person's fist and, fortunately, a spade equals to nothing.

Kiyomi got off rather easy, because she picked 'top' and her card was the fifth from the top. Plus, she had three spades and only one diamond.

Next to lose was Hua, and she wasn't so lucky. Lets just say she picked bottom and her card was exactly in the middle. Ouch.

On and on they played until only Sokka, Marisol, and Akina were left.

"You're going down Earthy!" cried Sokka, pointing to Marisol with a wicked grin plastered on his face.

"Watch it Frosty, or I'll burn your toes! Leave my little rock head alone, or else!" retorted Akina as she slammed down her card on the pile in the middle.

"Burn him and I'll… I'll argue heatedly with you, Smoke brain!" shot Marisol merrily as she took her turn.

"Thanks Marisol… wait!" said Sokka as he slowly put down his card, frustrating everyone including the ones no longer playing.

"That's right, Snow Muncher. She won't hurt me if I burn you; she'll just argue pointlessly," laughed Akina before she took at the last card Sokka put down oh so slowly.

"Something wrong, Sparky?" asked Marisol smugly.

"Yeah something's wrong, Ponytail just beat me!" cried Akina in mock horror.

"That's right," responded Isadora as she beat her fist in her other hand, "His hotness beat you and now you must pay."

"His hotness?" asked Akina with a raised eyebrow. Sokka blushed o hard that his ears threatened to burst spontaneously into flames.

"Yup," said Hua with a menacing smile, "And since he beat you, he should get to torture you."

Sokka was shocked. He really didn't want to hurt a girl, even if she technically WAS Fire Nation.

"Top or bottom, hot head?" asked Marisol as she shuffled the deck.

"Top," replied Akina quickly without any hesitation.

"Top it is…" said Marisol as she fingered through the deck. "You damn lucky witch! Take a look at this!"

"Holy!" cried Afina and a few others in surprise.

As it turns out, Akina's card was fifth from the top, like Hua, except the four above it were all spades.

"Well, I'll be a flying hog-monkey's uncle!" said Isadora with a huge grin.

"I guess I'm home free!" said Akina happily as she clapped her hands together as if to get rid of imaginary dust.

Sokka was relieved, he considered himself a gentleman, of sorts; and a gentleman never hits females. Well, at least not without a good reason to hit them. Okay, Azula and her cronies don't really count as girls to Sokka, at least not when they were trying to either kill him or do him bodily harm. I should get back to the story now, shouldn't I?

Marisol shot Sokka a sly grin, "Looks like it's just you and me now, Ice Princess."

"Guess so, you stone hearted tyrant," retorted Sokka, putting down the first card.

Marisol gasped and put her hand over her mouth before saying in a really innocent voice, "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, Ponytail. Thank you!"

"But you're not supposed to thank me!" replied Sokka.

"I know, I like messing with people's heads," smiled Marisol as she took her turn.

"Haha, she got you there dearie," joked Lily. Sokka made a face in response.

"Are you going to move or not?" pressed Marisol. She had the upper hand at the moment and she didn't want him stealing or ruining her 'mojo'.

"I'm going you stinky badger mol, I'm going," grumbled Sokka as he put down his card at an infuriatingly slow pace.

The game continued on like this for some time and no one was able to tell who was going to emerge the winner. Finally, after forty minutes, Marisol put down her last card and… _lost to Sokka_!

"Holy pig-cows! He beat the 'master' of Three Nation War Torture!" gasped Hua.

"First Marisol decides to go around bare foot, then she looses to someone who's never played before!" cried Isadora, "It really is the end of the world!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Sokka. He wasn't sure but it sounded like Marisol never lost a game of Three Nation War Torture. (Okay, I want everyone say it with me, "NO DUH!")

"What she means is that odd things have been happening lately and it seems that most are happening to me," explained Marisol.

"The end of the world!" persisted Isadora.

"No," retorted Akina," It just means that Marisol has finally met her match in not only the game, but also in luck".

"Nothing out of the ordinary," added Lily.

Marisol nodded and said, "There's always someone better than you in everything in life."

"But what about the Avatar? He can bend all four elements!" asked Kiyomi with a look of puzzlement.

Afina took the liberty to reply to that comment with, "Just because he can bend all four elements doesn't mean that he's the best at it. True, one maybe the most powerful, but you will have a weakness. No one is perfect."

"Oh…" said Kiyomi softly.

The others nodded in agreement to Afina's reply before Isadora perked up again and said, "Now, about Marisol's torture…" with a huge smile.


	17. Chapter 17 Cutting It Close

HAHA! I LIVE! Boy it's been a while, hasn't it?

I don't own ATLA because if I did, I'd have a job right now. Oh, and I want to thank all those who gave me in person reviews (you know who you are so I won't list them off).

I will try to update more often but no promises since my computer now has no floppy drive and all my files are on floppies. ARRG!

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"Damn, I was hoping you had forgotten," moaned Marisol, "Just get it over with."

"I can't intentionally hurt her! That would make me as bad as the Fire Nation!" complained Sokka.

"Hey, I resent that," retaliated Akina.

Sokka ducked his head and amended, "Bad as bloodthirsty Fire Nation troops. Better?"

"Better," said Akina in a clipped voice.

Isadora ignored Sokka and Akina's little exchange of words and grinned wickedly while Lily slowly shook her head, but before Kiyomi said, "If you don't torture her, she gets to torture you!"

"She's right," agreed Marisol as she cracked her knuckles in anticipation.

"Changed my mind!" shouted Sokka while grabbing the deck of cards and shuffling them clumsily.

"Atta boy!" congratulated Afina, "It's a good thing you changed your mind because if she tortured you, why, you'd be in some serious pain."

Sokka looked at Marisol and Marisol shrugged. "Hey, I never claimed to be sweet and innocent, did I? I'm the kind of girl who knows how to hit and make it hurt. As a matter of fact, all of us know how to do that. And for that reason, you'll never see any one of us an air headed trophy wife who's sole purpose is to produce an heir and a spare." The other girls made noises of accord. Secretly, Sokka pitied their future husbands. "So, let's get this over with."

Marisol pulled a random card out of the deck and Hua looked over Marisol's shoulder to see what it was.

"Well I'll be…" started Hua after glimpsing the card, but Isadora decided to finish her sentence with, "A flying hog monkey's uncle!"

"Even your goddesses are agreeing on the match, Marisol," commented Kiyomi when she saw the card.

Sokka was completely lost and said so, much to the amusement of most of the girls.

"They're just being evil and teasing me about this…" said Marisol as she turned her card so that Sokka could see.

"What about it? It's only the Queen of Hearts," said Sokka without thinking much.

"Exactly…" grinned Isadora, "The Queen of Hearts…"

"Oh shut it!" ordered Marisol as she put her card back into the deck in Sokka's hands and turning to thump Isadora on her leg, totally missing Sokka's ears turn a deep shade of maroon when he finally got what Isadora was implying.

"Top or bottom?" stammered Sokka, for he hadn't yet fully recovered from Isadora's comment. Before Marisol said anything, Kiyomi leaned forward and whispered to Marisol to choose carefully, or she might hurt his man pride. When Marisol gasped at what Kiyomi had meant, Kiyomi only smiled naughtily and winked.

Again Sokka was confused, but this time he wisely chose to remain silent until Marisol chose 'top'. After the giggles from the peanut gallery subsided Sokka said, "Top it is," provoking more unwanted giggles from the audience and several acid glares from Marisol.

Sokka began thumbing through the cards and after a minute, made a face. A couple of cards later he whistled. After a minute more, Sokka found Marisol's Queen of Hearts…on card from the bottom.

"Oooh! Marisol's in for it!" joked Lily in a singsong voice, "what was the last card?"

"Uh, the Ace of Spades," replied Sokka as he held up the card for all to see.

Marisol was still in shock from not only losing but also from finding out her punishment so she barely heard Sokka when he asked if she really wanted him to 'torture' her. She nodded numbly and replied, "Better you than them."

Sokka took it that 'them' meant the on-lookers. And, judging by their nearly murderous smiles, Marisol was right; better Sokka than the other girls.

"I'll try not to hit you _too_ hard," whispered Sokka in what he thought was a reassuring tone as he flipped over the first card.

"King of Hearts," sighed Marisol and the other girls tittered annoyingly in response. With a noise of exasperation and a wicked twinkle in her eyes, Marisol bent the earth behind her so that the other girls were 'thrown' into the air a couple of inches and landed back down hard on their tailbones.

"OW!" complained Akina, "Okay Marisol, we get the point!"

"Literally," added Hua as she rubbed her bruised backside. "Anyways, back to your torture..."

Marisol rolled her green eyes and extended her hand for Sokka to hit.

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Throughout the 'torture' Marisol was a good sport and even made little whimpering noises of pain from time to time, even though Sokka never hit her very hard. And, when they came to the last card, the Jack of Clubs, Marisol made a big show of how mush she was in pain.

Her performance was so horribly funny that it sent everyone, including Sokka, into fits of laughter that lasted at least fifteen minutes.

When most of the laughter settled down to a few giggles, and in the case of hiccups for Lily, yet another male voice called from outside the door, "You guys better quiet down or that fat dragon is going to come and eat you all!"

Sokka immediately quieted down and his eyes grew large from what he deemed as a close encounter.

"Don't worry about him Frosty. Jin-Li won't tell on us," whispered Akina with a private smile, meaning more for herself than for Sokka.

"Yeah, Jin-Li's Akina's beau," jested Kiyomi.

"More like her current toy," retorted Isadora good-naturedly.

"I'm right here you know… I can hear everything you're saying," commented Jin-Li, "Who are you talking to by the way? I didn't thin Margan got a new terror, I mean dancer."

"Hahaha very funny, Mr. Guard," replied Marisol dryly, "Don't you have a job you're supposed to be doing?"

"Yes, but it's a slow night. And you still didn't answer my question," complained Jin-Li.

"What question?" asked Lily mischievously.

"Yeah, what question?" grinned Hua. By that time, Sokka had relaxed substantially and was even grinning along with the other girls.

"Who were you talking to?" repeated Jin-Li in a frustrated tone. "Don't any of you remember?"

"Remember what?" goaded Kiyomi. Jin-Li let out an irritated groan and the girls, plus Sokka, laughed at him.

"Okay wise guys, I'll just have to see for myself," stated Jin-Li bluntly as he began to part the curtain that ( and we have already established this) served as Marisol's door.

"JIN-LI! NO!" cried several girls at the same time while several more jumped to their feet to screen Sokka.

"No? What do you mean…" started Jin-Li but stopped dead when he caught sight of Sokka. "Oh. That explains a great deal."

"It's not what you think," blurted Afina quickly.

"No, it's exactly what I'm thinking. Damn it, you guys KNOW the rules and you all KNOW better. I mean what if someone else was guard tonight? Better yet, what if Margan caught him here?" yelled Jin-Li before rattling off a string of really rude explicatives, all of which I won't bother repeating for I would a) have to change my story's rating; or b) bleep the entire thing out, which would take several minutes, leaving you where we started. "If Margan finds out, I could lose my job!"

"All the more reason to keep your voice down and to keep your yap shut," retorted Akina softly as she put her hand over his mouth to help quiet him down. Jin-Li rolled his eyes and made a rude noise out of frustration before getting a mischievous look in his eyes. "What?" asked Akina slowly, as if she was afraid of what his response might be.

Jin-Li just looked at her naughtily and she felt him smile before she felt something warm and moist press against her palm.

"Eeeew!" screeched Akina as she flapped her hand around to dislodge 'cooties' and then wiped her hand on his shoulder. "That was _disgusting_ Jin-Li!"

"I know, that's why I did it," grinned Jin-Li before turning to Marisol, his expression now a sober one, "Seriously, get rid of him. As for the rest of you, go back to your tents. Now."

"Fine…" whined Isadora.

"Party-pooper," complained Afina.

"Stupid PAID guards," spat Hua unhappily.

"Lame Fire Nation," pouted Kiyomi before saying, " But not you Akina."

"No… of course not," replied Akina sarcastically as she, too, took her leave of the group.

Finally, when the rest of the girls left to their respective tents, Jin-Li shot Sokka one last glare before he too stepped out the door.

"Well," sighed Marisol, "it was fun while it lasted."

"Yeah it was, especially when I kicked your butt!" replied Sokka slyly as he glanced at Marisol out of the corner of his eye. But, Marisol herself was unmoved.

"Oh so what, it was only one game."

"One game you LOST!"

"What ever Sokka. Even if I did lose today, I had more fun today than I've had in years."

"Really?" replied Sokka so girly that Marisol HAD to call him on it.

"Yes, really. Man, you sounded like a girl. '_Really?_'" laughed Marisol as she clasped her hands in front of her chest and fluttered her eyelashes.

Sokka made to hit her, but it was only an empty threat used to intimidate rather than actually hurt. Marisol saw right through his façade.

"Put 'em up! Put 'em up!" joked Marisol as she put up her fists and bounced around Sokka like an amateur boxer before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"You're crazy. You know that, right?" asked Sokka with a shake of his head.

"Yup, I know," replied Marisol, " Being crazy makes the day more interesting. You should join the club, you know."

"No thank you." stated Sokka with a wrinkle of his nose. Marisol laughed again, but not as hard as the last time.

"So… I guess I'll see you, and maybe your friends, tomorrow?" asked Marisol.

"Yeah, I'll see… wait! What's tomorrow?" asked Sokka in reply.

"Tomorrow happens to be our last show in town, silly!" responded Marisol.

Sokka raised his eyebrow as if to ask 'is it going to be anything like tonight's?'

Marisol giggled a tad, "No, nothing like that. It's our 'family show', but who really wants to take their kids to a Fire Nation biased show anyway? There are some things that are a little risqué, but it's toned down. A LOT."

"I don't know… I'll probably be in trouble for staying out so late today. You know how little sisters are…" replied Sokka hesitantly.

"No, I don't know how little sisters are- I was the annoying little sister," said Marisol with her hands on her hips, "As for your friend and sister- bring them. I'd like to get to know them better."

"Seriously?" asked Sokka skeptically.

"Totally. Bring them by around, oh say, noon. I'll be sure to be done with chores and stuff by then." Sokka still wasn't sure, and he wasn't too happy with the circumstances either.

Marisol picked up on that and chided him by saying, "What, don't you want to share all this? Or what, be selfish and keep the experience all for yourself?"

Sokka hated being bullied into a decision, especially if the bully was a girl, but he did really see any other option than to give in. "Fine," he sighed.

Marisol squealed happily (which was rather out of character for her, but who's counting?) and said, "See you tomorrow then!" as she pushed Sokka out the door. "Sweet dreams, Sokka."

"Sweet dreams Marisol…" replied Sokka quietly with a stifled yawn.


	18. Chapter 18 Sleep Sounds Nice

(happy squeal) THANK YOU!!! Thank you you all the readers out there because I now have 1099 hits! True, I did contribute about 10 of those hits but you guys did the rest. For that I'm realy grateful. So, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! Oh, and another thanks to Usagi Youkai for blaming me for dying Azula's hair hot pink, it left my friends roling on the floor with laughter. Anyways, I thank you guys, again, for reading and if you like what you read please leave me a review!

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Marisol felt tired, but she didn't feel like sleeping. There were just too many things buzzing around in her mind to even think about sleep. But despite that, Marisol knew that if she didn't at least try and get some shuteye she'd be a zombie in the morning, and no good would come of that. The last time she had pulled an all-nighter, she burned her hand because she didn't pay attention to how high the flames had gotten before reaching for a pot. The scars may have healed, but she'd learned her lesson.

As she went through the monotonous routine of getting ready for bed, Marisol felt most of her thoughts calm down to a tolerable drone, and for the first time that day, she could honestly say she was relaxed.

After she brushed her teeth, washed the make-up off of her face and brushed her hair one last time, Marisol pulled back her threadbare blankets and hopped into bed. When she finally found a somewhat comfortable position, Marisol stared up at the tent's ceiling and sighed happily before drifting off into a dreamless slumber.

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"Sokka! Where have you been?" demanded Katara angrily, her voice betraying that she was on the edge of hysteria.

"What, no 'hey Sokka, how was your trip into town'?" retorted Sokka half-heartedly. Katara glared at him acidly.

"What she means is that we were worried about you," said Aang sleepily with Momo in his arms, "It's not like you to stay out so long, especially with so many Fire Nation people around."

Momo was just happy to see Sokka again and showed it by launching himself out of Aang's arms and landing on Sokka's shoulder. From there, he slithered down Sokka's chest, to be held in Sokka's arms, and made small noises of happiness.

By then Katara had calmed down enough to ask, in a tightly controlled voice, "So where were you the entire time?"

"Oh here and there…" he replied nonchalantly, "but I did run into Marisol. In fact, that's were I spent most of my time, in her company and in the company of her fine friends."

"Is that so?" asked Katara tartly. She didn't feel like believing a word he said simply because she was tired and felt like ticking him off. Ah, the joys of being a sister… "And did her fine friends happen to be all girls?"

"Maybe they were… maybe they were not," replied Sokka dreamily. Katara rolled her eyes and Aang shook his head.

"What happened to not wanting to trust Marisol?" asked Katara with a sly, sideways glance at her brother.

"Changed my mind," huffed Sokka, knowing she was trying to bait him into admitting he was wrong.

"So, your instincts were wrong then?" countered Katara, predictably. But hey, she thought it a good time to bring up that old fight of theirs, even if it was already dead, buried and decaying… eww, bad mental image…

Aang laughed, not caring that that fight was super old, "Good one Katara."

"Hey!" cried Sokka defensively, " Leave my instincts alone, will you? It wasn't my instincts that were wrong; it was my gut feeling."

"And the difference is?" asked Katara with a raised eyebrow.

Sokka tried to answer, but found he really couldn't. On his third attempt, Aang cut him off by saying, "Why don't we just get some sleep guys? It's after midnight and I'm pretty sure that we're all tired. Plus, we have a lot to do tomorrow."

Both Katara and Sokka grumbled their agreement. Momo yawned before flying off toward Appa, leaving the others to follow in his wake.

As Sokka crawled into his sleeping bag, he said tiredly, "Oh, I almost forgot. Marisol wants us to meet her tomorrow at noon, in her tent."

Katara sat bolt upright, bringing her sleeping bag with her. "_WHAT?_"

"Marisol wants us to meet her, in her tent, tomorrow at noon," repeated Sokka, not bothering to turn to face his sister.

"Sokka, why did you do that? We could have made plans! You should have asked us before making that decision!" growled Katara.

"Oh excuse me!" Sokka shot back. This time he did turn around and gave Katara a black glare. She, in turn, gave him an even blacker glare. And that set off the war to the words, again.

"Brain-less moron!" accused Katara.

"Controlling girl!" Sokka retorted sharply.

"Smelly boy!" bit Katara.

"Shrieking harpy!" yelled Sokka.

By that time, poor Aang was so sick and tired of the sibling squabbles that he couldn't take it anymore. "Guys! Knock it off!" he yelled, but try as he might, the others couldn't hear him over their own ruckus. Momo too was tired of the loud noises the two humans made and even he tried to get them to quiet down. But, poor Momo had even less success than Aang did. Even combined, Aang and Momo's yelling did nothing but made more noise.

Finally, Appa had had enough and bellowed at the top of his lungs. Not only did hi shut Sokka and Katara up, it woke up all the flying creatures for miles around and blew out the small campfire that the group had built, throwing them all into the dark embrace of night.

"Look, it was wrong of Sokka to make plans for us without consulting us first, but what's done is done," said Aang quietly. There was something about the darkness that made him want to keep his voice down and whisper. "If we don't get some sleep now, we'll be really tired in the morning and that isn't good for any of us. So, sleep now, talk later…"

Katara and Sokka grumbled unhappily, but Aang couldn't hear them because he was already out like a light. Pretty soon, the others followed suit. The last one to knock out was Momo.

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Across the darkened campsite, a shadowed figure snuck around silently, making a beeline to Marisol's tent. The figure knew the schedule of the guards only too well and was able to time her arrival perfectly. As soon as Jin-Li walked over to greet his replacement, Jaesel, the shadow had already slipped through the door into Marisol's tent. It was darker in the tent than outside, so the figure paused a moment to let her eyes adjust.

She knew that there was two ways to wake up Marisol. One was to throw water on her and the other was to simply call out her name. The worst possible way to try and to wake her up was to shake her. It positively scares the crap out of her and the last person to try it, Kiyomi actually, walked away with a black eye. Ouch.

"Marisol? You awake?" she asked softly. Marisol mumbled sleepily and rolled over.

"Marisol! Wake up! Marisol, you big –" she called a little louder and was startled when Marisol cut her off.

"I'm awake, stupid," complained Marisol, "What do you want Lily?"

Lily shifted noisily in the dark before saying, "Night swim. You in?"

Marisol thought about it for a bit and then said, "No, I don't think I want to. I've had enough fun for one day, thanks. Plus, I'm really tired."

"Aww, did he tire you out?" joked Lily.

"Whom are you talking about?" Marisol grumbled as she sat up in her bed.

"Oh, I think you know…"replied Lily airily.

Marisol thought about it for a second before asking, "You can't mean Sokka, can you?"

Not that Marisol could see but Lily rolled her brown eyes and let out a sighing _hmm._ "Yes, I did mean his handsome-ness."

Marisol groaned. "Goddess help you! You're as bad as Isadora!"

Lily chuckled softly before asking, "So, are you in or what?"

"I don't know…" moaned Marisol, " Is this the place where there are a few small waterfalls by the river?"

Lily let out an impatient hiss of a 'yes' and shifted again.

"_Fine_," said Marisol sleepily and somewhat reluctantly, "I'm in."

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Hey, it's me again.(yes, I am aware that you're probably thinking, _well no duh_) It's scary when you haven't watched Avatar for a loooong time and

when you finally do catch it, you find yourself starting to tear up because it's such a beautiful thing. Then it takes a turn for the creepy when you can

practically quote the dang episode word for word.(sighs) Yeah, that was me yesterday when I was watching the Cave Of Two Lovers episode.

Sometimes I scare myself just by realizing dumb I can be... Oh dear Lord! I think I'm turning into Ty Lee! (screams bloody murder)


	19. Chapter 19 The Water Monster

Yeah, I've got even more hits!..but only one review... Anyways, thanks T-man, though I already scolded you in person for you bad imagination. No, my characters won't be doing any of _that. _

(scratches head in thought) Well, I guess I'm done here... oh yeah and I don't own ATLA or any thing related to it, except the action figure I got for Christmas but that doesn't count. Or does it? (scratches head again)

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It was too easy to get past the guards and out to the river. The only tricky part was to get past Margan's tent, for the old dragon was still up and rattling around. Other than that it was easy as pie to sneak out.

By the time lily and Marisol got to the river, the others were already splashing around merrily.

"Took you long enough!" complained Kiyomi, "She didn't knock you out, did she, Lily?"

"Nope," replied Lily before cannonballing into the deepest portion of the river.

When she surfaced, Hua asked, "Are you sure? It looks like you have two black eyes… oh wait, those are just your bags!" Lily splashed Hua in the face in response, causing Hua to sputter.

"Serves you right!" laughed Marisol from her perch on the bank.

"Oh yeah?" replied Hua before splashing Marisol. The water was pretty darn cold, being the tail end of winter and all, and it made Marisol yelp loudly.

"Not nice!" cried Marisol as she moved toward the small waterfalls upstream.

"What is it with you and those dang waterfalls?" Afina called to Marisol, "Whenever we're near one, there you go!"

"You know what, I dunno," Marisol shouted back, "It must be the Water Tribe part of me that's compelled to be near them."

"No, I don't think that's it," replied Afina with a raised eyebrow, "You forget Kiyomi and I are both full blooded Water Tribe girls and we're not 'compelled', as you said, to sit under every waterfall we see."

"I guess it's just me then…" said Marisol, half to herself, as she settled herself under the cascading stream of cold water.

Like that, the matter of Marisol's quirks was dropped like a hot brick. By then, they were so used to each other's habits that ignoring the oddities came as second nature. But, just because they could be easily ignored didn't mean that they weren't fun to poke at. No, in fact pointing out the obviously odd behavior and poking fun at the person was (and is), well, fun. Anyway, back to the story…

One of the reasons Marisol liked sitting under a waterfall so much was because if you sat in the right spot, all other noises would be drowned out be the dull roar of the water, leaving you practically alone with your thoughts. Plus, the relaxing massage effect wasn't too bad either…

When Marisol had zoned out and oblivious to the world, she obviously didn't notice that the others had stopped not only talking, but moving as well. Nor did she hear the guards calling out their names and orders to each other. She was so out of it that she didn't even see the balls of orange light that was the guards' torches.

That is, she didn't see the torches until one of the guards walked to the bank of the river.

"Jaesel, I found 'em!" shouted the guard. There was a muffled reply and a group of six guards appeared on the banks.

"Good work, Dero!" said Jaesel as he clapped the first guard on the back.

"All right ladies, enough fun for one night," said another guard, Salm.

"Yeah," chimed yet another guard named Lannon, "Margan doesn't pay us enough to baby sit a bunch of squirrelly girls."

"Be happy the old dragon pays you at all!" retorted Akina bitterly.

"But you guys get tents," said a craggily faced guard named Otar in response, "We're lucky to be able to buy a decent meal with the pennies Margan pays us."

"Oh poor baby…" cooed Lily, "But somehow the trade doesn't seem even. Freedom and money, or a tent and being forced to work? Hmm… that's a hard one."

Otar and a few others rolled their eyes, but they knew that she was, truly, right.

"Hurry up ladies, or do we have to go in there and drag you out?" called out the last guard, Acar. The girls looked at each other mischievously making Dero, Lannon and Acar nervous. If they tried to break for it, they as the guards would have to either chase after them or face the wrath of Margan. It certainly wouldn't be first time they tried to make a break for it and it most likely wouldn't be the last time either. The call of freedom is just something that can't be resisted.

Kiyomi opened her mouth to say something witty, but instead, the slimy voice of Hazo rang out from behind the guards, making them jump.

"My my, what's this little illicit powwow and why wasn't I invited?" No one bothered to answer Hazo since he already knew what the gathering was for. " I was walking past a few tents when I wondered where the brave guards that protected our lovely performers. Then, another shocker when I checked a tent, Akina's actually, and I found it empty! I had to ask myself, 'where would both parties go on such a night as this?' And, after checking several locations, I remembered the river."

"Hazo, why don't you go and annoy someone else for a change?" hissed Lily.

"Oh really? And did you happen to have someone in mind?" retorted Hazo as he narrowed his eyes at her, challenging her to respond.

"Like Fire Nation troops…" suggested Lily smoothly, "… or even better, why don't you walk up to some Earth Nation troops and tell them what Margan's doing and how you've been working for him since practically the beginning?"

"Ouch, Lily. That one _really_ hurt. Why don't you do us all a favor and just drown," bit Hazo. It was obvious that Lily annoyed the crap out of him and Lily liked to push his buttons anyway.

"Okay, sure," said Lily in a fake tone of agreement, "That way I can pencil you into the Devil's little black book. How does tomorrow, around this time, sound for a meeting with death?"

That comment not only made the girls who were listening intently howl with laughter, but the guards started to laugh as well.

"Insolent Earth Nation hoar! I'll have your hide for that!" screamed Hazo in frustration.

Lily laughed off his threat. "Fine then! Come get me!" she taunted and made a face that kids make when they want to piss someone off enough to come after them.

Not pausing to think, Hazo stripped off his shirt and shoes, earning some cat calls from the guards, and jumped into the river after Lily. The only thought that must have been on his mind at that moment was the thought of tearing out Lily's throat with his teeth.

The entire jumping into the river after Lily was a huge mistake on his part. Lily may not have bee the greatest swimmer in the world, but she was far better than Hazo's rudimentary skills. Plus he must have forgotten about the two Water Tribe girls, Afina and Kiyomi, who knew how to dart through the water like fish.

As soon as Hazo was within arms reach of Lily, he was pulled under the water by an unseen force and he came up sputtering. The guards onshore were still howling with laughter.

Hazo was so furious that one could swear that the water around him was boiling.

Or, there is another explanation, but I don't feel like I need to tell you. Just use your imagination… anyways, back to Hazo being furious.

Since Kiyomi was the closest to him at the moment, he thought that she had been the one who had pulled him under. So, in a cold rage, he lunged at Kiyomi but, again, was pulled down. Still fuming, Hazo lashed out blindly in the dark water, hitting something in the process. That something, as it turned out, didn't like to be hit so it came around to Hazo's back and used him to push off against; effectively knocking what was left of his breath out of him.

Once again, Hazo came up gasping and sputtering. All the while, the guards were laughing so hard they were crying and they were about ready to wet themselves.

"ALL OF YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" cursed Hazo as he dragged himself out of the water and collected his things. But his threat went unheard for everyone was laughing too hard.

"Remember Hazo, tomorrow night around this time!" called Lily, but he just kept walking away, muttering to himself angrily.

The guards onshore were doubled over gasping for air from laughing so hard.

"Okay, so who pulled him under? Afina?" laughed Dero.

"Nope," said Afina with a shake of her head.

"Isadora?" asked Otar. She shook her head no with a small, sorry smile.

"Akina?" asked Jin-Li. Akina snorted in contempt. "I'll take that as a no then…"

"Hua? Kiyomi?" asked Salm, but they too shook their heads no.

"Then who?" asked Acar in bewilderment, "It couldn't have been you Lily, right?"

Lily shook her head. "No, not me. I don't swim well enough to do that."

"Well if it wasn't any of you, who was it then?" said Jaesel with his arms crossed over his chest. The girls just looked at each other in bafflement. The guards, too, didn't know what to make of the situation. That is, until Lannon noticed the trail of bubbles headed straight for Afina.

"Afina! Look out!" he shouted, but it was too late, she had been pulled under.

When she resurfaced, spewing water, Afina yelled, "That's it, you're going down!" and dove after whatever was under there.

It wasn't long before the water started to roil a few feet away from where Afina had last been. In fact, before they realized it, two human heads surfaced, gulping great breaths of air.

When she caught her breath, Afina started to laugh. "Look what I caught!" she called happily, " I caught a Marisol!"

Marisol laughed in reply. "Okay, I'm busted!" she said, putting up her hands in defeat, "I wasn't about to let you guys have all the fun with him."

"Why you cunning little eel!" exclaimed Salm with a smile, "I believe we forgot all about you!"

"Well it came in handy, didn't it?" said Marisol smugly.

"Yes, it did," replied Jaesel, "but now if we don't get you to your tents, Margan will have all our heads charbroiled and well done on a plate."

As tradition called, the girls all moaned and complained but they knew when to call it a day, or night in this case.

"Meet you back at your tents," said Jin-Li walking away, only to pause before adding, "Oh, and don't get caught please. You know the procedure."

The girls nodded and Jin-Li left. Behind his back, all the girls rolled their eyes.

" What does he think we are? Stupid idiots?" asked Hua as she waded out of the water.

"Yeah, I know," replied Isadora, "I mean we were the ones who created the 'procedure' anyway!"

"Stupid Fire Nation," said Akina, earning her some funny looks, "Hypocritical, I know, but do you know how long I've waited for the right moment to say that?"

"No, we don't Brimstone, nor do we care at the moment," teased Marisol as she trudged out of the water and shivered slightly from the chill night air, "All I know is that I just want to be back in my warm, albeit hard, bed."

That last comment got a chorus of tired 'amen's from the other girls.

By that time, Jin-Li had come back with a worried expression plastered on his face. But, the expression quickly melted when he saw that they were still there and hadn't tried to run off.

"Man, can you guys be any slower?" Jin-Li complained, earning him a bunch of 'yes's from the girls. "Well, I'll just divide you into pairs now. That way it cuts down the risk."

Most of the girls rolled their eyes in response. Jin-Li ignored them and said, "Alright then, it's Afina and Hua, Isadora and Kiyomi, Lily and Marisol, and Akina's with me."  
Isadora snickered, " Whatever you say, _Love Muffin_."

Jin-Li rolled his eyes and pretended not to have heard that last jibe. "Who'll take the most hazardous path past Margan's tent?"

"We will," piped up Lily. Marisol shot her a puzzled look but Lily chose not to see it. "We're the two most silent girls of the group. Plus, that fat dragon isn't likely to get too angry with us since we're so well behaved. _Usually._"

Marisol knew that last bit was for her and smiled sheepishly.

"Then it's settled," stated Jin-Li, leaving no room to question, "Let's get going."


	20. Chapter 20 Espionage

Ty Lee opens a door, looks around and sees you. (skipping over to the screen) "Happy Fire Nation Day!" Marisol hears the commotion and opens the same door.

Upon seeing Ty Lee, she tackles her and covers her mouth. "Hey Ty Lee, this is Earthenrose's time, not yours!"

Ty lee frees herself enough to point at me and say, "She's busy narrating so I'm doing it for her." I wack Ty Lee. "Ouch! Why did you do that?"

Because Ty Lee, I felt like it. Now, as Ty Lee said HAPPY FIRE NATION DAY! Yes, today _may _be Valentine's Day but since I pretty much loath this 'holiday' and since its colors _are_ red and pink (and black if you ask me) I've renamed it. Tada! oh yeah... and I don't own ATLA, yadda yadda yadda... Happy Fire Nation Day to you all! ;)

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The cold night air chilled Lily and Marisol's damp skin, making them shiver. They had been walking for several minutes and were barely coming to the edge of the encampment. And to Margan's tent.

"Goddess have mercy, the old buzzard is still awake!" whispered Marisol as they neared his illuminated tent.

Lily smiled wickedly, "You want to listen in? I think he has a visitor."

Marisol shrugged, "Why not?"

They both snuck over to the back of Margan's tent, crouched down and listened carefully.

As it turned out, Lily _was_ right for Margan did have a visitor. It turned out that this 'visitor' was a sharp tongued woman with a nasty temper to match.

"Margan, you know your business is illegal and if my father found out you'd be in the kind of trouble you can barely fathom," said the woman as her shadow leaned across Margan's desk. Closer to him in fact, just to intimidate him.

"So I suggest," continued the woman, "you tell me what I want."

Margan swallowed audibly. "What do I get out of it?" he asked timidly.

The woman groaned an annoyed groan, "Why do I waste my time with morons like you? Never mind… I will let you have Ty Lee. She is to perform and nothing else. Do I make myself clear?"

Shadow Margan nodded and Marisol nearly cried aloud. After all, Margan and that woman were discussing her replacement.

"Good, now I'll be by tomorrow afternoon with Ty Lee. I expect that you'll be ready to give me the information I want."

"Yes Princess Azula," said Margan quietly.

Lily and Marisol looked at each other in amazement. Both were thinking, "Azula? Here? No way!"

At that point, lily thought it wise to make a run for their tents so she squeezed Marisol's hand to get her attention then jerked her head towards the tents. Marisol nodded silently in agreement.

"One…" whispered Marisol.

"…two…" whispered Lily.

"Three!" they said together as they dashed out of their hiding spot and ended up running smack into Azula, which knocked them all over.

"Get off me you slime!" yelled Azula. She obviously didn't liked to be touched. "Margan! You'll pay if you don't get out here now and help me!" she yelled again, this time angrier.

Margan obviously feared Azula's wrath for he came out on the double to grab Marisol and Lily by the scruff of their necks and haul them off of Azula.

"It seems, Margan, that you can not control those you claim to own," purred Azula wickedly.

Marisol glared at Azula while Lily tried to look innocent.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" growled Margan as he shook Marisol and Lily to produce responses from them.

"I'm truly sorry, Prin… Prince… Princess Azula," stuttered lily humbly. Marisol shook her head ever so slightly, kept silent, and glared at Azula with hatred filled eyes.

"Well Marisol?" growled Margan, shaking her harder.

Marisol slightly raised an eyebrow and said in a hard tone, "Thank you for breaking my fall, Princess Pain-In-The-Butt."

Everyone's jaw dropped. "Marisol!" chided Lily, then continued in a whisper, "What are you thinking?"

"How dare you speak to royalty that…" yelled Margan, but Azula smoothly cut him off.

"If you please Margan, I believe that since I was harmed and offended, _I_ should deal out her punishment."

Margan had no choice but to let Azula do as she pleased. "Yes, Princess."

"Put her down, but hold her hands behind her back so that she cannot strike back," commanded Azula.

Marisol nearly laughed aloud at Azula's lack of insight. "Fool," she thought smugly.

Margan put her down, along with Lily but Lily knew she was in enough trouble and didn't dare run away. Plus, she didn't want to abandon her friend for it's not something Lily would ever do to a true friend.

"You will regret crossing me," hissed Azula and Marisol had to resist the urge to spit in her face just to piss her off even more.

Azula took up her stance a few feet away and taunted, "I hope this will knock some sense into your country bumpkin head."

Marisol snorted in disdain and Azula's hand lit up with a fireball. As she took her time and aimed it at Marisol's shoulder, Marisol tapped her foot impatiently.

As soon as her aim was perfect, Azula shot the fireball off, but instead of colliding with the intended target, it hit a wall of earth and shattered it to nothingness.

Azula tried once again but it ended in the same result. That pushed her completely over the edge and she started shooting fireballs at Marisol, not bothering to aim anymore. But, every time she let one fly, there was an earthen wall to meet and to stop it.

Before she exhausted herself and lost all dignity, Azula stopped and glared over at Lily. Poor Lily just wanted to shrivel up and disappear right then.

"Shame on you Azula," called Azula with a mocking smile.

That snapped Azula's attention back onto Marisol. "What?"

"Shame on you for thinking that I'd be an easy target to vent your frustrations out on. I'll let you off easy for calling me a 'country bumpkin' for how were you supposed to know that I was almost, if not equally, as noble as you are."

Azula came right up to Azula's face and hissed, "How dare you speak to me that way slave."

Again Marisol wanted to spit in Azula's face so bad, but restrained herself. "And you call yourself a princess? You're nothing but a rude, spoiled Fire Nation brat!"

Azula didn't even blink, she just let Marisol have it with a slap that left her sprawled on the floor with a first degree burn on her face. "When I return tomorrow, I hope you have taught this wretch some manners," she spat at Margan, making him wince as if he had been struck.

"I'll be counting the seconds," said Marisol sarcastically as she pulled herself up onto her hands and knees. She still didn't want to submit to Azula's power.

Azula looked down on Marisol in distaste and gave her a sharp kick in the ribs with the toe of her shoe, causing Marisol to wheeze. Azula turned to leave and before she was out of earshot she threw over her shoulder, "Remember Margan, I want that information."

"Yes Azula," Margan called in response before turning to Lily and barking, "Lily! Pick her up and BOTH of you get out of my sight!"

Lily jumped to obey since she was only too happy to get away from him and helped Marisol up. Both of them staggered away like a pair of drunks.

"Now you've gone and done it," whispered Lily as Marisol wept silently in pain.


	21. Chapter 21 New Day

Toph looks up with an irritated face. "Do you have to narrate everything I do?" she asks then scowls as I end up narrating it. My advice Toph, just say what I wnat you to say then

you can go. Okay? Toph scowls again, "Fine. Happy Earth Nation day... yadda yadda yadda. Can I go now?" Yes toph, you are free to leave, and here's a cookie for your pains.

Toph makes a face but accepts the cookie and leaves. Well, I decided to keep with my tradition and rename most of the holidays. So, St. Patrick's Day is now Earth Nation day! I

also want to thank 2sleepy2write-wake-me-up-later for the three reviews. To clear some things up, this story takes begins at the tail-end of Book one slides through Book two and

ends a little after Book two, which I guess can be considered the beginning of Bokk three. So I have my work cut out for me.

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"What were you thinking when you said all that crap to Azula?" chided Lily softly as she put a cold compress on Marisol's burned cheek.

"I wasn't, and that was my problem," muttered Marisol, "Goddess what a day!"

"I'll say," replied Lily, "This is going to swell a bit and it's going to hurt like hell for a while but, in all honesty, it's not so bad."

"Easy for you to say, you aren't the one who got burned," retorted Marisol.

"Nor was I kicked," added Lily, " and that's because I kept my head low, my tail between my legs and tried not to draw attention to myself. You, on the other hand-"

"-Did exactly the opposite, I know," interrupted Marisol with a wince of pain, "Believe me, I know."

"What made you act like that in the first place?" asked Lily, suddenly full of curiosity.

"Didn't you hear what they were talking about back there in Margan's tent?" asked Marisol as she propped herself up on one elbow and held the compress to her face with the other hand.

"Yeah, I did. They were talking about trading info for a …oh," said Lily, realization dawning on her face.

Marisol nodded, "Uh-huh. My replacement. I can't remember her name though… What was it? Something Lee…"

"Ty Lee," stated Lily with a wrinkled nose, "That's a pretty ugly name. Ty Lee… nope, I don't like it."

Marisol giggled and said, "What do you think she looks like?"

"If I was to judge solely on her name, then I bet she looks like a hog monkey," grinned Lily making Marisol giggle again. "Don't worry about her, she's probably really ugly and so useless that the crowd will beg Margan for you again."

Marisol shook her head, "Fat chance, Lily. If anything, Margan would just use it as an excuse to get another girl."

"Oh well if he does," shrugged Lily, "anyways, you better get some sleep."

"Yes _mommy_," agreed Marisol with a nodding yawn as Lily slipped out the door. Marisol yawned again and winced when she stretched her face too far.

"Yes… sleep sounds nice…" was the last thought that crossed Marisol's mind. With that in mind, it was no surprise that Marisol was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, if not sooner. The only problem was that it was very late (or very early depending on how you looked at it), around two in the morning, and when it was time to wake up, Marisol found it very hard to.

After a few minutes of lazing about under the warm covers, Marisol managed to drag herself out of bed to get dressed.

As she was brushing out her long hair, Isadora popped her head in and asked, " So, are you still up for our little market trip?"

Marisol turned to Isadora, "Hmm? Oh yeah, just let me finish getting ready."

Isadora didn't respond verbally, but her eyes went as big as wagon wheels and her jaw just about hit the floor,

"What?" asked Marisol. Isadora, again, didn't say a thing but she just walked in, grabbed Marisol by the wrist and dragged her outside to look at her reflection in the rain barrel.

It took no genius to figure out what had made Isadora react the way she did, especially since the answer glared like an angry wildfire across Marisol's cheek. A wildfire put there by the Princess Azula herself.

"Oh, that," said Marisol without any emotional attachment.

"Yes that. What happened to you last night? Who did this to you? How? Why?" exclaimed Isadora, practically hysterical.

"Calm down!" hushed Marisol as she, in turn, dragged Isadora back into the tent, "Let's see… last night Lily and I were passing by Margan's tent. His lamp was still on and he had company."

"Company?" asked Isadora, confused. Margan wasn't the type to burn the midnight oil.

Marisol nodded and continued on, "They were talking about my replacement. When Lily and I decided to make a run for it we ended up running smack into the other speaker."

"Who!?" demanded Isadora

"Oh no one in particular…" said Marisol, trying to avoid getting to the point where Isadora pointed out Marisol's stupidity.

"Who!?" repeated Isadora firmly. She wasn't going to give into Marisol's tricks.

Marisol sighed a defeated sigh. "The Fire Princess."

Isadora gasped. "Azula!" she exclaimed, mortified, "Have you completely lost your mind? Azula? Goddess help you and your stupidity!"

"I know, I know," moaned Marisol, " I wasn't thinking, I just - I don't know- reacted."

"Hell, I would too but not like _that_!" said Isadora, trying to calm herself down.

Marisol giggled.

"And what is so funny all of a sudden?" asked Isadora with a raised eyebrow. Though she didn't voice her opinion, Isadora thought Marisol had completely lost it.

Marisol giggled again. "You remind me of a frightened, squawking chicken when you were freaking out just now."

Isadora opened and closed her mouth at least four time, but try as she might she couldn't find anything witty to respond with, making Marisol giggle again.

"And now you look like a fish."

Isadora laughed in response, "Hey, I thought teasing was _my _job!"

"So sorry," replied Marisol with a mock curtsey and an even more mocking smile, "but you've been de-throned."

Isadora placed the back of her hand to her forehead, laughing, and said, "Oh the horror! Oh the injustice! Oh woe is me!"

Together they laughed for a few minutes before Isadora looked at Marisol's burn once again.

"Until I can get you to a healer," she said, "I think I can cover up that nasty thing up with make-up. Just so it won't be as noticeable."

"Thanks Isadora, but can you do it after I'm done with my chores?" asked Marisol.

"You still haven't your chores?" asked Isadora incredulously. Marisol shook her head 'no'. "Then, girlie, you better get crackin'! I don't have all day you know."

Marisol smiled, "I couldn't agree more."


	22. Chapter 22 The Marketplace

I don't own ATLA because if I did, season 3 would already be on TV. Sorry I broke my little tradition, but I did manage to do this... (Katara, Aang, Toph and Iroh all standing looking sleepy and grumpy in Toph's case) Now say it! "Happy Late All Nation Day!" they mumble in unison. (Azula pinata floats in front of them) Knock yourselves out!

Anyways, yes Easter was All Nation Day since the colors are from every nation, just muted a little.

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Sokka couldn't believe it. It was the next day and Katara was still giving him the cold shoulder.

"Katara, how many times do I have to apologize for last night?" complained Sokka.

In another person, the tone Sokka used might have been considered as whining, but for Sokka it was simply a complaint. No one wanted to hear Sokka whine; it's just too scary to even consider.

"I'm not mad Sokka," said Katara in a clipped voice.

"Yeah right…" mumbled Sokka. Katara shot him a sharp glance but otherwise ignored him.

"I'm just really irritated with you and your behavior," she continued.

Sokka went quiet and chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought. Suddenly his face brightened up with an idea and he said, tauntingly, "Well, if you forget you're irritated with me then I think I have something to make it up to you."

Katara stopped dead in her tracks and looked at her big brother with HUGE eyes. "What is it?" she whispered eagerly.

"Yeah Sokka, what did you get her?" asked Aang skeptically. He knew that it wasn't like Sokka to buy something nice for Katara on his own. In fact, it wasn't like Sokka to even _think _about anyone else but himself while shopping, so of course it was somewhat of a shock when Sokka said he'd actually thought of his sister and picked something out for her _and_ bought it.

"I don't know if you'll really like it…" said Sokka in that annoyingly taunting tone.

"Pleeeease!" pleaded Katara with her hands clasped in front of her and batting her eyes, just in case.

"Okay…" said Sokka, "Happy 'no more being mad at Sokka day' to you."

By that time, al the suspense drew in not only Aang and Katara, but Momo as well. Everyone, but Sokka of course, leaned in as Sokka pulled something out of his pocket and slowly unfurled his fist.

There, in the middle of his open palm, was an enameled hair comb with small pink flowers ornamenting the top portion of it.

The only thing though was that before either Katara or Aang got a good look at the gift, Momo screeched in delight, snatched it out of Sokka's hand and flew away.

"MOMO!" yelled all three at the same time before chasing after the wily lemur.

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Marisol blew through her chores like a tornado across a dusty plain, and she was just as sloppy too. Her basic chores each day was to help out the cook with the meals and to help clean up after. And, since it was so uncustomary for Marisol to shirk her chores and rush as she was doing that even the cook, Heng, commented on it.

"Going somewhere today?" he asked with a non-threatening, cheery smile.

Marisol made a big show of looking around before looking back at Heng and saying happily, "I am."

Heng nodded slowly as if what she just told him was a heavy secret to bear before laughing heartily. You couldn't help but love Heng because he was a big, grandfatherly teddy bear. Plus, he absolutely doted on the girls as if they were his, despite their different backgrounds. "If Margan asks, you finished your chores early and I don't know where you went, but I think it was somewhere near the stage since you had mentioned something about working on a new routine," e said, winking a shining gray eye at Marisol's surprised face.

After she got over her initial shock, Marisol's smile threatened to split her head in two and she hugged Heng so hard he wheezed. "Okay, okay. I get it Green Eyes, you're happy."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" cried Marisol as she turned and skipped away. After a few feet, though, she turned back around and asked, "Is there anything you want from the marketplace?"

"No, Green Eyes, it's okay," replied Heng modestly.

"You sure?" persisted Marisol, still happy from being allowed to go.

"Well, I wouldn't mind _too_ much if you got me a couple of turnip cakes…"

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"No Momo, you can't take my comb!" chided Katara as she lightly swatted Momo's paw away from her head.

Momo cried out in disappointment before winging off and sitting on Aang's shoulder. Aang smiled and reached up to scratch between Momo's ears. Momo closed his eyes and 'purred' blissfully.

"Momo, I know you think Katara's comb is pretty but it's hers and she doesn't want to share it with you," said Aang softly to the lemur.

Katara smiled in relief, "Thanks Aang, that was becoming more than a little annoying."

Aang gave Katara a lazy half smile but Katara didn't see since she had walked up to a random stall selling various fruits. Aang's shoulders drooped a little and he could only follow after.

"Is everything annoying to you now?" asked Sokka, absent mindedly picking up an apple and biting into it. Katara shot him an angry look. "I'm only saying," he continued, taking another, loud, bite. The vendor must have heard because she stopped what she was doing and turned to Sokka slowly. Her 'gaze of death' caught Sokka half way through his third bite, making Sokka stop biting the apple and pull it away from his mouth. He blinked innocently and gave her his sweetest smile but the ruddy faced woman wasn't fazed. Her steely gaze never wavered.

All she did was stick out her hand stiffly, demanding payment. Sokka slumped, almost as if he had deflated a bit and dug into his pocket for a copper piece. Only when he had place the coin in the palm of her chubby hand did she smile nicely and say, "Enjoy."

Sokka slunk away, bitten apple in hand. "Easy for you to say, my appetite's been destroyed." Katara tried not to laugh and had to hide her smile behind her hand as Sokka handed the apple over to Momo.

Momo rolled the apple over in his paws and yelled in complaint when he saw the bitten part.

"Hey, don't complain. You at least got it for free!" scolded Sokka unhappily. Momo put down his ears in defeated shame.


	23. Chapter 23 The Healer's SHop

Long story short, Senior year is a monster that feeds off of the spare time of students. That way they have no time for themselves. Good news is that Senior year is almost over. Anyways, please read, review and enjoy! …oh yeah, and I don't own ATLA, because if I did, Azula would be in prison and Ty Lee would be dead and decaying. Since that hasn't happened, it just proves my not being the owner-thing. yeah...

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"Okay, so we'll go by the food stalls and then hit up the healer's shop for some of his miracle almond lip slave," planned Isadora.

"Oh, and I want to visit the sea food restaurant. There's something I want to get there," said Marisol, singing her empty basket around her.

"The restaurant?" asked Isadora with a wrinkled nose, "What do you want there?"

"You'll see," replied Marisol in a sing-song tone as she skipped ahead a few paces, "I nearly forgot!"

"The healer's services on you tomato burn?" asked Isadora with a raised eyebrow.

Marisol ducked her head a little in embarrassment, "Funny how I forgot huh?"

"Not really…" replied Isadora in a bored tone as they sidled up to the nearest food stall.

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It had only been a few minutes and already Katara had managed to get reasonable prices on a big cash of food. Plus, she didn't have to pull out the "I'm with the Avatar" trump card.

"Geez Katara, can you buy food that's any heavier?" complained Sokka as he strained to carry most of the food, plus Momo.

"Don't complain," chided Katara, "you're going to be eating for a long time. Plus, I haven't even _started_ for the deals yet."

Sokka groaned loudly and Momo made a funny noise that Sokka took for laughter.

"You're lucky we love you so much, Momo," said Sokka, looking up at the white lemur. Momo blinked. "Or else we would have eaten you a long time ago."

Momo screeched in horror and flew over to Aang. "Don't listen to him buddy, I'd never eat you," comforted Aang.

Sokka made a noise of discord, "Speak for yourself," said Sokka, "I was ready to eat him the first time I saw him."

Momo looked at Sokka over Aang's shoulder and Sokka could have sworn that Momo stuck his small, pink tongue out at him.

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The bell attached to the door of the healer's shop chimed softly as Marisol and Isadora entered. The shop itself was dimly lit and smelled strongly of the pungent herbs that hung from the exposed beams that supported the roof. Shelves lined the walls and were filled with glass jars of various sizes containing every known herbal remedy. Behind the herb strewn counter sat a small, older man on a rickety three legged stool. He was scribbling mercilessly upon a tattered piece of parchment and finally noticed the two girls when he had paused and looked up with a tiny frown of concentration between his brows.

"Hello ladies," said the old man with a smile, "back for more of my lip salve are you?"

Isadora smiled, "Kudzu, you are a true mind reader!"

Kudzu smiled a knowing smile in return. "I knew you'd be back for more. Try it once-" he said before sticking a finger into his collar and tugging so it stretched, "- and you're hooked!"

Both girls laughed at his joke and Kudzu smiled warmly in appreciation.

When both girls stopped laughing Kudzu looked at both of them and said, "Some how, though, I feel that my lip salve isn't the only reason you two came here today. Am I right?"

Marisol shuffled a little and sighed, "I need your expertise."

Kudzu raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else to voice an inquiry.

"Last night," continued Marisol, "I, sort of, got into a heated argument with a fire bender of a rather noble title."

Kudzu shook his head and said, "Sorry kid, but I'm a healer not a lawyer."

"Oh no, nothing like that!" cried Marisol, waving her hands in front of her as if to help clear the misunderstanding. "I ticked her off-"

"-Royally. No pun intended…" interjected Isadora.

"And she, well… if you have a basin of water I'll show you," said Marisol, wringing her hands.

Kudzu was hesitant, but he pulled out a wooden bowl from beneath the counter and filled it with water from a pitcher standing behind him.

Marisol stepped up to the bowl, dipped her index finger into the cool water and ran her finger down her cheek, washing away the make-up so that a streak of bright red was exposed.

Kudzu's breath caught in his throat. "Oh my!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a pair of well used glasses, perched them on his short nose and examined her cheek more closely.

"I know, it's gross," commented Isadora, "but you haven't seen the entire thing yet."

"Does it hurt?" asked Kudzu as he gently prodded the burned area.

Marisol winced. "Only when I touch it or the surrounding area and if I move my face muscles too much."

Kudzu continued to peer at Marisol's burn. "This is more serious than I first thought," he said, "Here dear, why don't you carefully wash the rest of your make-up off. That way I can see what is needed of me."


	24. Chapter 24 Shriveled Corpses

I don't own ATLA because if I did, well season three would already have started. It didn't so I don't. Make sense?

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It took Kudzu only a few minutes to heal Marisol's burn, but to Marisol it felt like an age.

"Now I suggest," said Kudzu as he put a few things away in their proper places, "that you don't make too many faces because your muscles will be a little sore since I might have healed your burn but I'm not as great as I used to be."

Marisol put a hand to her cheek and smiled. "Oh Kudzu! I can't thank you enough!" she exclaimed happily. "How much do I owe you?"

As Marisol pulled out her incredibly light coin purse to dig out the amount the healer named, Kudzu put out his withered hand and stopped her. "No payment dear," he said kindly, "When you girls are in town, I get the best business. Plus, every year I get more customers."

"There must be some way to repay you," said Isadora, "Not everyone will do what you just did for a slave. Especially not for free."

Kudzu smiled, "No, no payment."

Marisol felt bad. "Then there must be something we can do in return for you!" she cried, "Anything! If you want me to try out some new remedy, I'll do it!"

"I don't know…" said Kudzu reluctantly.

"Anything!" insisted Marisol. Kudzu looked at her for a second before letting out a defeated sigh.

"I do need someone to test this," he said, pulling out a long strip of long, stiff, silver-grey bark. Marisol and Isadora just stared at it dumbly.

After several silent seconds, Isadora asked, "What is it, some kind of dehydrated corpse?"

"No!" laughed Kudzu, "It's bark from the Veda tree. I have heard that it cures, or at least numbs, pain if you leave it to soak then wrap the wet bark around the afflicted area for no longer than ten minutes."

"That's incredible!" said Marisol, bending closer to get a better look at the bark.

"It is, isn't it?" replied Kudzu, "But there is two problems with it. One, I don't know if it actually works; and two, if it is the correct tree bark then a tea brewed of the same bark is poisonous."

"Bummer," said Isadora, "If people found out about the medicinal properties, and not the poison part, then it would sell like hot cakes."

Marisol paused then exclaimed, "Oh, I almost forgot to buy Heng the turnip cakes he wanted." Isadora made a face; she hated turnip cakes with a passion.

Kudzu nodded, "Then you better get going." Marisol agreed as she gathered the Veda strips, thanked Kudzu once again and followed Isadora out the door.

"Be sure to tell me if the remedy works or not!" called Kudzu, but the door closed and cut off the possibility for Marisol to respond back. "And best of luck to the both of you. I have a feeling that you'll need it tonight for some reason."

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"Katara, if you buy anything else, I won't be able to see!" complained Sokka.

"Sure you can," replied his sister, "If you just move this here and that there… See, now you can watch where you're going AND not step on the backs of my boots anymore."

Sokka looked at his sister, then at Katara's new arrangement of the produce and then back at Katara. "Umm…"

"It works perfectly, doesn't it Aang?" commented Katara, drawing Aang over from a stall selling various nick-knacks.

Aang took one look at the new arrangement and began to laugh. If I were in Aang's shoes at the moment then I too would have laughed. Somehow, Katara managed to stack the things they had bought into a square with a hole the size of Sokka's head in the middle for him to see.

"Sokka kinda looks like a floating head," said Aang with a smile.

"Oh gee thanks," moaned Sokka, "And here I was thinking you were on _my_ side!"

"Not really, I'm on no one's side," smiled Aang as he turned to follow Katara.

Sokka slumped, again, and nearly had his pile fall to the floor.

"Hey! Wait for me!" yelled Sokka.

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Okay, so five points to the first person who can tell me what Veda is. (In case you can't find it, I put a star next to it the first time I typed it out). Anyways, what is the best way to tell me what the word means than with a review? …hint, hint…


	25. Chapter 25 Hello Again

Still no right answers for the mystery word... no entrants either... Please people, show me some love!

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"Do you think this bark stuff will actually work?' asked Isadora, holding a piece of the dry bark and sniffing it delicately.

"No clue," shrugged Marisol, "but I owe him one so I'll test it."

"Hmm…" replied Isadora, "Hey, I have some business with the jewelry stall on the far side of town, do you want to come with or do you have something else to do?"

"You mean you're going to that stall that's owned by that fat, balding, thieving merchant? You do remember that he stole the jade earrings Hua adored and sold them back to us for a ridiculous price, don't you?"

"Yeah, those will be three silver pieces I'll never see again," sighed Isadora, "but the old geezer is sweet on me and I can't find my favorite enameled comb -the one with the pink flowers on it- anywhere. I think he might have it."

"Didn't you lose that somewhere in my tent?" asked Marisol.

Isadora stopped and looked at Marisol, "Did I?"

"I think so," replied Marisol, "Remember, it flew off when you threw back your head and laughed manically at the latest predicament Kiyomi had gotten herself into."

Sudden realization dawned over Isadora's features. "It _did_…"

"Uh-huh" nodded Marisol, "So does that mean that you aren't going to that shop?"

"Nope. I'm still heading over there," said Isadora with a cheery smile, "Later Darling!"

As Isadora skipped off happily, swinging her basket in a way that said 'I'm in too good a mood to care if you get hit or not'. Marisol slapped her forehead with her palm and groaned.

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"Can we stop now, I'm getting really hungry!" complained Sokka as his stomach rumbled loudly. "See, even my stomach agrees with me." Sokka's stomach growled again and Sokka doubled over from the sudden pain.

"Don't worry Sokka, I'm _almost _done," replied Katara as she put herself on her tip-toes to place something she had just bought on Sokka's load.

Sokka groaned. "How much longer?" he whined, "I hate being a pack mule."

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After Isadora left her to her own devices, Marisol remembered a special errand she had wanted to do.

It took some time to find her target (she had to ask several people for directions and most contradicted what the last person had told her). So, about fifteen minutes later, Marisol found herself outside the town's best seafood restaurant. But, that's not saying much because it was the town's only seafood restaurant.

Instead of going thought the front door, Marisol skirted around the building to the back door and walked into the stuffy little kitchen. The scent of fish and a multitude of other, unrecognizable, scents assailed her nose in an unappetizing way as soon as she stepped through the door. Marisol couldn't help herself, she gagged aloud.

"Go away! You should know we don't give out scraps!" boomed a voice from the other side of the room.

"Forgive me sir, but I didn't come here for table scraps," replied Marisol loudly, giving the impression of calm… even though her knees were shaking.

"Is that so?" asked the voice and a very short man walked up to Marisol.  
Marisol blinked in confusion and though, "There's NO way that voice came from this midget."

"Well if you aren't here for scraps, what do you want?" asked the child sized man. Sure enough the gruff voice had come form him, confounding Marisol even more.

"Well?" asked the man impatiently, snapping Marisol just enough out of her daze to answer him.

"I was wondering if I could buy lizard shark skins from you. I need them for a for a certain project I have in mind," she said, making sure she didn't look at the short man, lest she should laugh.

Instead, the vertically challenged man laughed. "Buy? Heck, I'll give them to you. How many do you want?"

Marisol sighed in relief. "I'll need at least two decent sized skins."

The man nodded in agreement, "Okay, this way then."

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"Okay Sokka, since you've complained enough, we'll stop here to eat," said Katara as she motioned to a relatively small restaurant that looked as if it had been a house at one point. Now, the door had been replaced by two swinging doors, like the ones found in old western movies, and pictures of some of the wares were painted along the outside on the green plaster walls.

"Deep fried purple pentapus… Fresh lizard shark kabobs…" read Aang with a grimace, "I don't know Katara…"

"Don't worry Aang, we'll ask if they have any vegetarian dishes before we decide to eat here or not," replied Katara with a small smile.

Neither Aang nor Katara saw was Sokka and Momo lick their lips at the same time but for different reasons. True, both may have smelled the food, but Sokka only had to hear what the restaurant offered. For Momo, it was the paintings on the walls. Unfortunately though in Momo's case, he couldn't wait and thought that the painted items were real. He launched off of the Sokka's stack, making Sokka stagger backwards, and flew smack into the wall. The only thing, though, was that Momo didn't see stars, he saw floating plates of deep fried purple pentapus.

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When Marisol left the kitchen of the restaurant, her smile threatened to split her head in two.

At the moment, Isadora swerved over to Marisol's side and said, "Look at you… your smile is comparable to a canary cat that's gotten into the cream!"

Marisol giggled. "Nothing beats free stuff!"

"Amen!" replied Isadora swinging her heavy basket. Marisol looked down and the junk peeping out of the top.

"A metal statue of a Platypus bear? What on Earth made you want that?"

"I thought Wally was cute," cooed Isadora as she pulled the tarnished statue out of her basket and gave it a hug.

"Wally? You named it?" asked Marisol incredulously.

"He looks like a Wally, doesn't he?" asked Isadora in a way of her reply.

"He? How do you know it's a he?" retorted Marisol.

Isadora flipped the statue over and said, "Well, all I had to do was-"

"-Never mind! Forget I even asked!" interjected Marisol, covering her ears. Isadora laughed good naturedly and shoved Marisol just enough for her to lose her balance just enough for her basket to drop on its side, spilling forth its various contents.

"Oh now look what you've done!" cried Marisol as she bent down to retrieve her goods.

A few feet away, Katara and Aang stepped out of the restaurant's door, looking a little sad.

"It's a shame we didn't get anything to eat," commented Katara as Momo landed on Aang's shoulder.

"No," replied Aang, "it's a shame that they thought we wanted to eat Momo. They didn't seem to get the concept of a pet."

"Yeah, that was really weird," agreed Katara.

They waited in silence for Sokka to emerge and when he finally did, packages and all, they walked on towards Marisol and Isadora. At the last second, Katara and Aang turned left, down a side alley, and didn't tell Sokka figuring that he'd know…some how. Well, Sokka continued to walk towards the other two girls.

Unfortunately, because Sokka had only a small window between the packages to see from he didn't notice either girl. Isadora was too far left and Marisol was still getting her belongings together; so, both were in his blind spots.

"There!" said Marisol, "I'm finally done."

"Good, now we can go - WATCH OUT!!" cried Isadora, but it was too late; Marisol stood up with her basket just as Sokka rammed into her from behind.

"Ouch," winched Isadora.

"HEY!" shouted Sokka and Marisol let out an angry growl.

Watch where you're going!!" yelled Sokka and Marisol at the same time. All the commotion brought Katara and Aang back in a hurry.

"Sokka!" cried Katara.

"Are you okay?" asked Aang as he skidded to a halt next to his friend.

"Sokka?" asked Marisol half to herself as she began to turn over.

"That's right dummy, watch where you're going next time or I'll…" started Sokka, but when he saw that it was Marisol, his jab died on his lips. "Marisol?'

The two of them just sat there, blinking at each other. Meanwhile, Isadora was off to the side laughing like a maniac and muttering, "It's just _too perfect_!"

"Of all people to run into… literally," said Marisol as she got up, brushed herself off and held out her hand to help Sokka up.

Sokka couldn't say anything except, "Thanks."

"Oh Sokka, The packages!" exclaimed Katara with a groan.

"Don't worry about it, Isadora and I can help. Won't we Isadora?" said Marisol with a sideways glare at her friend.

Isadora sobered up in a second, made a face and said glumly, "…fine…"


	26. Chapter 26 Close Call

Okay, shorter chappie. I know, I know... you're probably thinking "FINALLY!" after all those really long ones. I hate to tell you but the up coming ones are pretty long... so get used to it. Anyways, I would like to thank SkyeVerya, SilentConfessions for reviewing and a BIG thank you for the many reviews from TheTwilightRurouni! ...ooh, room spinning... I guess _this_ is what it feel like to be appriciated... I think I like it! XD  
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With everyone, including Momo, helping to pick up the spilled packages the task took them about four minutes tops.

"Grocery shopping, huh?" said Marisol as she placed the last of the small purple eggplants in a spot where it wouldn't roll off of Sokka's enormous stack.

"Yeah, we were planning on leaving tomorrow morning," replied Aang as he absent-mindedly scratched Momo behind his ears.

"Really? Where to, may I ask?" asked Isadora, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"We're not exactly sure," replied Katara, "but we need to find Aang an Earth bending teacher."

"Well what about Marisol? She's an Earth bender," said Isadora, earning an acid glare, that could have melted flesh had it been real acid, from Marisol for even thinking of volunteering her.

"I don't think so," replied Marisol firmly, "No offense Aang but I don't think I'd be much of a teacher. I know, in fact, that I have a lot of learning still to do. If I was to take the position I'd probably be doing more harm than good. That being said, I don't think I'm in any place to be of help. Sorry Aang."

"That's okay. I'm sure I'll find the right teacher sooner or later," said Aang with his usual air of cheerfulness.

"Yeah, but let's hope it's sooner rather than later…" grumbled Sokka from behind his mountain of groceries.

"True…" said Marisol, but from the other end of the dusty 'street' a voice yelled, "Isadora! Marisol! When I get a hand on you two!!"

The two girls in question froze like two deer in the headlights, big eyes and all.

"Shi…" started Isadora, but Marisol cut in, "Flying llama poo!" Sorry folks, this story has enough bad things in it, it doesn't need any more cursing. Anyways…

"Quickly!" cried Katara, "Run down the alley!"

"Right," agreed Marisol as she grabbed Isadora and then said, "Remember the show tonight! It's good to see you again!"

Isadora snapped out of her paralysis, turned and said, "Good to mee… Wait, is that _MY_ comb?"

Katara looked puzzled but put a hand over her present defensively.

"There's no time!" cried Marisol as she pushed Isadora over to the alley.

"Wait, what about noon?" asked Sokka suddenly as he remembered the deal that had been made the previous night.

"Come if you want!" answered Marisol before running around the corner, Isadora in tow, and disappearing from sight behind a stall selling cheap fabric for outrageous prices. The last thing they heard of the girls was Isadora wailing, "_But that's my comb!_"

About two seconds after they were gone, a red faced monkey of a man charged up to Aang and the group and demanded, "Where did they go?"

"Not sure…" lied Katara, blinking innocently and pouting a little to hide her threatening smile.

The man looked at Aang expectantly but Aang just shrugged. The man turned and yelled in anger, scaring Momo.

"Geez, what a grouch," commented Sokka after he thought the man was out of earshot, but the man hadn't moved and caught every word. Luckily, Sokka couldn't see the poison-tipped dagger filled glare the man shot him or Sokka would have tried to hide, effectively knocking the boxes he was carrying back down.

"Come on guys," said Katara uneasily as she pushed Sokka forward, "we better get this stuff over to Appa."

The others agreed whole-heartedly and hurried off, leaving the monkey man behind.

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See, told you it was short... Well, no one still has taken up my challenge as to what Veda means... (shrugs) oh well I guess no one wants this... (throws semi-authentic Zuko shirt over shoulder and into conveniently placed fire place)


	27. Chapter 27 Ty Lee

Okay, so I got a couple answers to my question... AND the answer I was looking for was that Veda means knowledge in Sanskrit, according to a baby name site so if it's wrong don't burn me at the stake. So, since the entrants were incorrect, but actually entered, I give Haiban what's left of the 'authentic' Zuko shirt (sorry about throwing it in the fire place) and to TheTwilightRurouni I give the asked for head band of Toph... (polite knock on door) Oh hang on a sec people... (polite knocking turns into pounding then the door crashes in) Zuko? Toph?...uh... hey guys, what's up? (Zuko covers his shirtless chest with his arms and Toph has a _mean_ fro)...uh... "I'm gonna give you three seconds to give us our stuff back," growled Toph. Zuko shoots me a dirty look and says, "Three seconds? Earthenrose, if you don't give me my shirt back NOW you're going to be bald for a **long** time!" (long silent pause) "Okay..." I say, easing out of my chair in front of the computer, "I'll just go to my car and get them out of the trunk..." I head out of the house, jump into the car and speed off. "I told you three seconds was too long," complained Zuko. Toph hit him in the arm. "That's for being a smart ass. Now lets go find Aang and see if he'll track her down with Appa."

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Sokka yelled in frustration as soon as all the packages he was carrying were loaded up onto Appa. "We have to go back and help them!"

"Sokka," said Katara, interposing herself between her brother and his supposed destination, "Think about his for a second!"

Sokka looked at his sister for a second before stepping around her and continuing on.

"SOKKA!" yelled Katara, interposing herself in front of him again, this time with her arms flung wide to further prevent passage. Sokka glowered at her but she paid no attention as she continued on. "Sokka, do you think that either Marisol or her friend is a push over?"

Sokka stared at his sister and said, "No," not getting the point.

"Okay, do you think they're dumb enough to not be able to take care of themselves?" persisted Katara.

Sokka looked at Katara for a second guilt filled eyes before looking down, kicking a pebble with his shoe and sighing. "No," he said, his body slumped dejectedly, in a way that made him look deflated. "But, I want to help them. I usually am the one getting her into trouble."

"I think the best way to help is to just stay from away for a while and let them resolve their own issues without our meddling," said Katara softly as she put her hand on her brother's arm, "Agreed?"

Sokka only nodded and sighed again.

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After swinging by the 'kitchen' to leave Heng his turnip cakes, which were stone cold by then, Isadora and Marisol ran back to their tents to stash their 'treasures' and to change into their practice outfits; all of which took no longer than two minutes. It took them another two to get to the practice area, where the others were waiting.

"Where have you two been? Margan's been freaking out for the past half hour!" hissed Hua.

"We were-" began Marisol, but Isadora cut in and said, "-Out" with a wink. Hua rolled her eyes and groaned.

"So where's the old dragon at the moment?" asked Isadora as she pushed herself into a handstand.

"Over there," said Hua, jerking her head to indicate his direction, "and he's talking with some creepy Fire chick."

"What?!?" cried Marisol, making her lose her balance and fall over onto the floor with a loud thud.

"You heard me, Margan's talking to some creepy…" Hua started to repeat, but at that moment, said creepy Fire chick and Margan walked into the grassy area.

"I hope for your sake, Margan, that the information is correct. You are already wearing thin my patience," said the girl.

Marisol bared her teeth and hissed, "Azula…"

Hua looked at the girl with Margan and shrugged. "I guess," she said as she turned back to Marisol and Isadora with a sly twinkle in her eye, "but check out Pinkie."

Hua motioned again with her head and Marisol saw for the first time a girl, younger, with longer hair then her and dressed totally in variant shades of pink, doing her own version of the stretches along with the others. Marisol snorted a laugh.

"Funny looking isn't she?" whispered Isadora with a malicious grin.

"No, it's not that," whispered Marisol with a suppressed giggle, "there's a ring around her since no one want to be near her!"

"Classic," grinned Hua as the red faced man from the town walked, rather slowly and full of shame, up to Margan.

The man cleared his throat to get Margan's attention, but he got everyone else's as well, including Isadora and Marisol's. "Uh, sir," he said, "I'm afraid I can't locate the two missing girls. I believe both Marisol and Isadora ran away."

"No. We. Did. Not!" yelled Isadora as she got up and walked up to the man, leaving Marisol to follow. "How dare you even accuse us of such a thing since it's obvious you didn't do your job!" Kiyomi, in the background, glared at the man and did the 'oh no you didn't' finger snaps.

The man sputtered and flushed a little before regaining his composure. "Don't even lie, I saw you in town with the other one!"

"Hey, I have a name you know!" snapped Marisol, making everyone look at her funny, "And do you honestly think we're that dumb? To just walk out to town, where there are hundreds of witnesses? I don't think so." Kiyomi punctuated Marisol's dressing down with another round of her finger snaps, earning her a punch and a glare from Lily.

The man turned an even brighter shade of red and looked at the floor sheepishly. It was obvious that the girls had tag teamed him into a corner, so to speak, and that there was no graceful way out of his current situation.

Margan looked upon the man with contempt and said, "You're fired! Now get out of my sight you… you…"

"Nincompoop!" finished Isadora.

The man mumbled something about setting fire to Margan's tent late at night under his breath and left.

"Loser!" called Isadora after him and stuck out her tongue, just to add insult to injury.

The others got up and walked over to their two victorious comrades. "That was mean Isadora, even for you," whispered Afina quietly.

"I know, I just have to keep up appearances," Isadora whispered back with a lame excuse for a smile. Afina just shook her head.

"Margan, there isn't enough time in the world for this nonsense," said Azula with a small frown, "Ty Lee, let's go."

"Wait!" called Margan, "I thought the girl was staying with me!"

Azula looked at Margan the way you would look at an incredibly stupid fish that keeps jumping out of its bowl.

"It's okay to leave me here, Azula," commented Ty Lee, "You still have Mai to help you and, plus, I like it here. My aura is positively glowing with pinkness!"

A random snort came out of the bunch of 'regulars' along with a mumbled but rather rude comment on the subject of her pink aura, causing many of them to snicker.

"Fine," agreed Azula with false carelessness before her tone regained its hard edge, "but if Margan's information proves false, I'll be back to retrieve you tomorrow morning."

"Okay Azula. Bye then!" smiled Ty Lee.

Azula scanned the bunch of faces one last time and narrowed her honey colored eyes when they locked with Marisol's pale green ones. Marisol wore a small, wicked little smile on her face and turned her face to her right, Azula's left. What Azula saw, or rather didn't see, left her shocked for a second but then her anger regained dominance. Azula almost said something but decided that Marisol wasn't worth the effort. With one last glare she turned and left.

As soon as she was out of sight, Ty Lee moved up to the group and asked, "So, what do we do next?"

"Marisol," said Margan wearily, massaging his pounding head, "you show her around. I have to go take a nap before this headache kills me." Of course all the girls, minus Ty Lee, wish him dead so they all were contemplating keeping him up. Too bad they took too long to make up their minds…

When Margan had gone, Marisol said, "Kiyomi, can you show her the ropes?"

"Why can't you?" asked Kiyomi to Marisol's retreating figure.

"Because," she replied as she walked backwards to see Kiyomi, "I'm afraid I might strangle her." Ty Lee immediately looked worried.

"Fine…" agreed Kiyomi reluctantly, "But you owe me!"

"Big time!" called Marisol with an impish smile before turning around and heading to her tent.

"I say she's up to no good, what do you guys think?" commented Akina. The other nodded in agreement.

"Hmmm…" said Isadora with half closed eyes.

"What is it Isadora" asked Lily in a tone that said 'I bet it's going to be something stupid'.

"Oh, I was just wondering," said Isadora lightly, "if she still had His Hotness stuffed under her bed."

"What?" asked Hua.

"Oh wait, that can't be," replied Isadora, biting her lower lip in thought.

"And why is that?" asked Afina as she started walking over to the middle of the grassy area to stretch and practice.

"Because we saw when we snuck into town," replied Isadora nonchalantly, "He looks a lot like his sister. I mean, you can really tell they're related."

"But, I thought you two _didn't_ go into town," remarked Ty Lee, confused.

"Oh we say we don't but we always do. In fact, most of the merchants are on first name basis with us. And many of Margan's guards don't care as long as we don't try to run off," said Isadora with a tiny smile.

"Why would you run off?" said Ty Lee, suddenly even more confused, "It's nice here." The other girls just stared at her blankly.

"Your cranky friend didn't tell you, did she?" asked Lily softly.

"Tell me what?" asked Ty Lee, now super confused and more than a little scared.

"We're slaves," said Akina bluntly, "We have no rights, no privacy and no say in what happens, to us or otherwise."

Ty Lee blinked and processed the information she just received, then she smiled and said, "I get it; this is all one really complicated joke. Azula wouldn't sell me into slavery, she's my friend."

"May the Gods help you!" exclaimed Lily.

"Maybe it's time you found better friends," advised Afina.

"And fast," added Kiyomi.

Ty Lee laughed. "You guys are funny, you know that?"

The others just groaned and began to warm up again.

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Hehe... Lucky for me, Toph and Zuko haven't found me...yet. But anyways, I just wanted to thank all who read and for those who reviewed, I give a big hug:


	28. Chapter 28 Momo

(sighs) Too much to do... Sorry if I haven't been too good on updating, new school year in a new school. Ohhh, and I've got a headache the size of Texas... So I don't own ATLA and I have to thank those who have reviewed and to my friend Leila for giving me the idea of having eyes as big as Momo's head. I know, I know, you're probably scratching your head wondering what on Earth I talking about... you'll see. So, standard procedure: I post, you read and write reviews if you liked it. Or not. What ever, my head hurts too much to care at the moment...

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It was a good thing Marisol walked off when she did because she was furious.

"Great! Just freaking great!" she growled as she bent down to pick up a random shoe, a six-inch gold tone heel from last night's finally, and flung it across her tent, ripping the fabric of the wall a little.

Seeing what she had done, Marisol yelled a very profane word I won't bother repeating and flopped face down onto her bed where she complained into her pillow.

If the pillow was capable of any thought, it probably would have thought that Marisol was acting like a big drama queen. But, of course, pillows can't think… or at least I don't believe so… hmmm… but I digress.

Marisol kept pouring her heart out to her pillow until she felt a gust of air and something land next to her on the bed. Marisol froze reflexively and slowly turned her head to see what it was. There, sitting calmly next to her leg, was the cutest little animal she had ever seen. It had really big ears, white fur with a brown face and tail, and big curious eyes.

"Hello," said Marisol softly as she stretched out her hand to pet it.

The creature chattered at her then scooted closer to her outstretched hand so she could scratch its head. Marisol giggled when it closed its eyes and sighed happily.

Marisol kept scratching its head until it suddenly pulled away and looked at the door, ears erect.

"What is it?" asked Marisol. The little creature looked at her briefly and blinked before turning its attention back to the door.

With out warning, the creature launched itself off the bed and made a funny noise as it flew out the door.

"Oh okay, bye then," called Marisol after it and smiled in spite of her troubles.

In fact, Marisol sat there, smiling like a retard for several minutes.

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"There you are Momo!" exclaimed Aang merrily as Momo alighted upon his shoulder, "Where have you been buddy?"

Momo chattered a response and took off once again, looking back only once.

"I think he wants us to follow him," commented Sokka.

"But, where is he going?" asked Katara.

"Beats me, but I hope its somewhere with food," replied Sokka, holding his gurgling stomach and groaning quietly.

"Do you think he's headed to Marisol's tent?" wondered Aang.

Sokka shrugged, "Beats me, but if he is then he's going in the right direction."

Katara raised an eyebrow and said, "Well then we better follow him, should we?"

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This time Marisol not only felt the little flying thing come in, she saw it fly in and smiled as she watched it land lightly in almost the same spot as before.

"Back again I see," smiled Marisol, stretching her hand out again to pet its head.

The little animal blinked sleepily, chattered something only it understood and crawled past her hand and up to her face. There, it rubbed its head on Marisol's chin and purred.

Marisol giggled as she bundled the little thing in her arms and cooed, "You are so adorable!" The animal stayed in her arms with out any fuss until it looked at the door, its ears erect. The funny little animal unexpectedly began to move as if it wanted to leave, so Marisol opened her arms and let it go. As soon as it was free, it flew out the door with the same noise as before. Two minutes later it flew back in, landed on the floor and began hopping and chittering. It seemed to Marisol that it was trying to get someone or something's attention.

Sure enough, a familiar voice said, "How did Momo know the way?"

Marisol walked over to the door, still smiling and said as she pushed the curtain out of the way, "You're early."

Momo took the opportunity to jump up and sit on Marisol's shoulder, using her as a perch.

"Momo!" exclaimed Aang with open arms, which Momo happily jumped into.

"So his name is Momo huh?" asked Marisol as she watched Aang hold Momo like a furry baby that had a tail.

"Long story," said Katara with a tiny smile that grew bigger by the minute. She couldn't help it, Marisol's smile was infectious.

"Well, I've got the time," said Marisol, "Why don't you guys come in before someone sees and snitches on us."

"Like that guy I heard Lily complain about… Hammo or something like it," said Sokka as he stepped in, followed by the other three, Momo included.

"Hazo," corrected Marisol, "Yes, exactly. He's probably the biggest thorn in our side."

Marisol continued to chat amiably with Katara, Aang, Sokka and she even made comments to Momo from time to time. After a while, the conversation took a turn that really didn't interest Katara and as the others talked, she took the opportunity to look at her surroundings.

The tent itself had seen better days, for it was worn in places and there was a tear in one of the walls. There was no decoration, per say, except for the few small touches that Marisol had done herself, or so Katara assumed. There wasn't much in the way of furniture except for and old, large wooden trunk, a raised bed with mended blankets, a crate used as a night stand, a smaller trunk and a chipped bowl of a washstand.

Seeing nothing more of interest, Katara turned her attention back to the conversation and noticed something about Marisol's face. Right by her left ear were two deep red marks about the length and shape of fingers.

"Marisol," asked Katara when the conversation died down for a second, "did you get hurt?"

Marisol looked puzzled for a second the slowly realization dawned over her face and she put her hand over her cheek.

"It's still there?" she whispered, eyes as big as Momo's head. Katara nodded soberly and Marisol inhaled sharply. "Oh gods, I thought he had healed it all…" she whispered half to herself.

At that point both Aang and Sokka had no clue what was going on so they just kept quiet and looked from Katara to Marisol and back.

Momo, on the other hand, had fallen asleep in Aang's lap and was drooling profusely.

"Maybe I could try to help…" offered Katara.

"Would you?" asked Marisol with pleading eyes, " I don't want to look like a burn victim."

Katara nodded and smiled a little before getting to work.

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All in all, the healing session didn't take too long. The burns looked worse then

they actually were, and they would have healed on their own in about two weeks with no

scarring.

As Katara gave Marisol the all clear, Marisol walked outside to look at her reflection in the rain barrel. Those inside heard Marisol sigh in relief and relaxed.

Though what she said next made Sokka tense up for he knew too well the treat the three of them posed to Marisol.

"What the hell are you looking at Hazo? Why don't you go meet my bubbly replacement and stalk her?" yelled Marisol angrily. There was a muffled reply and the earth moved a little before Marisol said again, "That's right, leave! I don't want to ever see your ugly mug around here again!"

When Marisol re-entered the tent she wore a large, triumphant grin. "What?" she asked.

"How close of a call was that?" asked Sokka, his posture as taut as a bow string.

Marisol made a rude noise and waved Sokka's fears away. "That wasn't even close enough to be considered even a minor threat. Don't worry about him."

Sokka relaxed visibly and the conversation between all four resumed.

The merry chatter lasted for twenty minutes before Hua popped her head in and warned Marisol that Margan was on his way ad that he didn't look too happy. Marisol thanked her and hopped to her feet as Hua pulled her head out, but not before smiling and winking at Sokka, making him flush a little and making Katara's eyebrow shoot up.

"I've got to hide you guys!" said Marisol as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Sokka as he jumped to his feet, "You're not shoving all three of us under your dusty bed!"

"I know!" replied Marisol, "Only one of you fits down there. Two if I'm lucky…wait a minute!''

Sokka cringed, Katara blinked and Aang said, "For some reason, I don't think I'm going to like this very much."


	29. Chapter 29 Dress Up

Yeah!! I posted before the month was out!! Yeah for me! Oh I'm so happy, not only for that but because my b-day is around the corner. It's on the- wait, why am I telling you guys, you could care less. ...Anyways, I'll post the next chappie up Asap and if you liked this chapter please review since Marisol is sulking in the corner from my lack of attention. _It's not my fault_ _other works have caught my fancy..._ Great, I just got a death glare. Your reviews will stop my death by Earthbending... (reads what was written) ...and I need to stop posting when I'm on a sugar high... oh well. Anywho, R&R please and thank you!

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To Marisol, the plan she had devised was brilliant. To the two guys… lets just say they weren't big fans.

"Tell me again why we have to dress up as girls?" asked Sokka before being hit in the face by a flying dress.

"Because," said Marisol for the umpteenth time, "I'm not allowed to have visitors, males in particular. So if I make you look like a bunch of harmless little girls- here Aang catch- Margan will be a little more inclined to let the incident go."

"Okay, I get that," said Sokka, "But why do I have to wear such an ugly dress?"

Sokka held the dark green dress out in front of him, at arm's length, as if it had a highly contagious disease.

Aang on the other hand, already put his pale pink dress on and Momo had crawled inside, and stuck his head out of the too big collar. Katara stifled her laughter as best she could.

"Hmm… You know Sokka, you're absolutely right," commented Marisol as she reached out and snatched the dress away from Sokka before rummaging in the large trunk again. "This one's more your color anyway."

This time Sokka managed to catch the dress before it hit him in the face. "Purple?" he asked, disgust visible in every line of his body.

Marisol sat on her bed and shrugged. "If you don't like the idea then you can just hide under my bed again."

Sokka looked horrified at the idea and exclaimed, "Never mind," as he threw the dress on.

"Hang on a second Sokka," said Katara before going and yanking his boomerang and its holder off of her brother's back and tossing it to Marisol who stashed it behind her pillow.

"Hey!" exclaimed Sokka indignantly.

"It would have stuck out and looked funny," said Katara, arms crossed. Marisol wasn't helping out either for she nodded in agreement with Katara.

"Now," said Marisol as she hopped off her bed and put her hands behind her back, smile plastered on her face, "for the hair."

"Umm…Marisol, I don't have hair," pointed out Aang.

Marisol smiled again as she pulled something out of the trunk and plopped it on Aang's cranium. "And now you do."

Sokka yelled and knocked it off Aang's head and Momo jumped down and 'attacked' it.

"What the heck was _that_!" exclaimed Sokka, wild eyed.

Katara shook her head and Marisol sighed as she bent down to pick up the fallen object.

"It's a wig you dolt. All the girls around here actually have hair," she said ass he absent mindedly ran her fingers through the hair of the wig.

"Oh…."

Marisol examined the wig for a second then looked at Sokka. "This would look better on you."

"Me? Why me, I have hair!" complained Sokka.

"I know you do but it's not the kind of haircut girls normally have…even if it is in a ponytail," said Marisol before plopping a longer, lighter colored wig on Aang and pulling the binding off of Sokka's hair.

"Hey!" cried Sokka. Marisol looked at he way his hair fell and made a face.

Marisol turned to Katara and asked, "What do you think?"

Katara shook her head and said, "Nope. Definitely too short."

Marisol nodded and said, "My thoughts exactly," as she put the wig on Sokka. "Remember, you're supposed to be a girl so higher pitched voices."

Sokka rolled his eyes and was going to say something but was cut off by Margan's voice from outside.

"Marisol, are you in there?" his voiced boomed.

"Uh… yeah, come on in," replied Marisol as she jumped to sit on her bed.

When Margan saw the other three, plus Momo, a confused look crossed his face and, well, stayed there.

"Margan, these girls are from town. They think they would like to become dancers. I hope you don't mind too much," lied Marisol with a hopeful smile.

Margan blinked. "Not at all. Though," he said and pointed at Aang and Katara, "you two seem a bit young." Margan looked down at Sokka and smiled. "But you seem plenty old enough my dear." Sokka couldn't do anything but stare, mortified, at he mountain of flesh that was Margan.

"What's your name, my pretty?" asked Margan as he put a finger under Sokka's chin to get a better look at his face.

Sokka paled to the point where Aang thought that he was going to pass out.

"Uh… her name is Sokkonna," blurted Marisol and she nearly hit herself for her stupidity.

"Sokkonna, is it?" asked Margan, not even bothering to look away from Sokka's face. "Unusual, but pretty."

Aang hadn't thought it possible, but Sokka paled even more and whimpered quietly.

"Well Sokkonna, you seem as delicate as a panda orchid," cooed Margan in a low, deep voice.

"Is he trying to seduce my _brother_?" thought Katara with a grimace.

Sokkonna…er, Sokka whimpered again.

"I'll tell you what," said Margan as he caressed Sokka's cheek with one fat finger, "I'll let you in my group next time I'm I town. What do you say to that?"

Sokka gulped and Aang said, "I don't know… He- er, she-"

"-Can't talk," cut in Marisol smoothly without blinking an eye.

That got Margan's attention. "Really?"

Everyone under the age of twenty nodded their heads emphatically, Momo included. Though, he only nodded because the wig on Sokka's head fascinated him so much.

"That's too bad then," replied Margan, "because I only let in girls who can at least speak."

Sokka sighed a small sigh of relief and relaxed a little. But only a little.

"But," continued Margan, "you know I'm still a bachelor looking for his soul mate. I think I may have found her."

Marisol nearly laughed aloud for Margan was on his tenth wife, and Katara snorted softly in disgust. Aang was just shocked that Margan was so blind as to Sokka's masculinity.

"Well that's all the time I have for right now girls," said Marisol, jumping to her feet and pushing the guests out the door, past Margan and into safety, "so I'll see you guys next time we're in town. Okay? Take care now, bye-bye!"


	30. Chapter 30 Confrontation

Yeah , Chapter 30! And I'm not even half way done...lovely. Anyways, thank you to all who commented. I have to agree, last chapter was a bit disturbing with the whole Sokka/ Margan thing but you know what? I had a really fun time writing that scene out. Not my fault Sokka looks good as a girl, I blame genetics. XD Oh, and I don't own ATLA yadda yadda yadda, if I did... yadda yadda yadda... and me.

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Once Katara, Aang, Sokka and Momo were out the door and on their way Marisol sighed.

After turning around and catching a glimpse of Margan's forlorn face, Marisol said, "Margan, you're married. Plus he was too young for you."

Margan sighed, "I know… but- wait, did you say 'he'?"

"She. I mean SHE," corrected Marisol immediately. Margan raised an eyebrow in question. "Well," continued Marisol, "she's… you know… also, a well uh, a he."

Margan's face went devoid of all emotion so suddenly that it would have been comical had the situation not been so serious. "You mean Sokkonna was, no, is a he-she?"

Marisol nodded solemnly but didn't say a word more, lest she say something to contradict one of her _many _lies.

On the outside, Marisol was as serious, and as emotional, as a stone. On the inside though Marisol was laughing uncontrollably. "Just wait until the girls hear of this. If they don't hit me first for calling Sokka a he-she, then they'll be laughing their heads off!" thought Marisol happily.

Margan rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "Too bad, she would have been a top girl."

"Literally…" muttered Marisol with a small chuckle at her own perverted jest.

"What was that?" asked Margan.

"Hmm?" asked Marisol as if she didn't hear what he said.

"Did you say something?" said Margan. Marisol pouted a little in thought then shook her head no.

Margan sighed again and said, "Well… what did I come here for again… oh yeah; Marisol I heard from a reliable source that you had male company last night after the show."

"I did," said Marisol bluntly ass he leaned against her bed, arms crossed.

"WHAT?!?!" bellowed Margan angrily.

"Calm down!" hushed Marisol using her hands to help quiet him down before continuing, "I did have a guy over last night, but it was the one you brought. He was a rude jerk, by the way."

"Are you sure? My reliable source said-"

"-Is your reliable source Hazo?" interrupted Marisol bitterly, "because we both know what a lying rat he is."

Margan took a deep breath, let it out in a loud 'whoosh', and said, "It was Hazo. I can't believe I fell for his lies."

"Wouldn't be the first time…" muttered Marisol.

"What was that?" asked Margan.

Marisol acted bewildered. "I didn't say anything. Geez Margan, you need a hearing aid."

"Maybe I do…" admitted Margan grudgingly before looking at Marisol again. "Shouldn't you be at practice?"

"Uhh… yeah. I just forgot my…" lied Marisol, looking around quickly to find something to say she had 'forgotten'.

"Your lie, perhaps?" supplied Margan smoothly. Marisol looked at him, dumbfounded. "Well, was that it?" asked Margan.

Marisol gave Margan her best 'I know I'm guilty as mud but I'm trying to look sweet and innocent' smile. Heck, if she had dimples she would have used those too, but all she had were her long eyelashes; which, might I add, she bat several times to feign innocence.

Margan wasn't fooled. He pushed Marisol so she faced the door, kicked her none too gently in the rear and said, "Git outta here!"

Marisol went running to the practice area, giggling like an idiot the entire time.

Margan groaned loudly, "Gods, if these girls don't kill me, I personally don't know what will!"


	31. Chapter 31 Oops

Phew... Sorry it took me so long guys, I've been busy with 'stuff'. Well, here it is and I hope you all like it. I'll try and get on the ball about updating. I promise (crosses fingers behind back).

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"You did what?" said Kiyomi, Isadora and Lily all at once after Marisol told them what happened in her tent.

Hua walked up to Marisol, pouted then proceeded to hit her in the back of the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" complained Marisol, rubbing her head.

"He is _NOT _a he-she! How dare you even consider that as an excuse!" growled Hua.

Marisol smiled sheepishly and was about to reply with something witty when she spotted something small and white dart past.

Lily followed Marisol's eyes to the spot she was staring at and, upon seeing nothing, looked back at Marisol concerned. "Did you see something?"

Marisol blinked her eyes a few times to clear her vision. "I just remembered I left something in my tent," she said quickly, "Be right back…"

That being said, Marisol turned and dashed back to her tent.

Afina looked at Lily and asked, "You think she's feeling alright?"

Lily shrugged and Afina turned her gaze back to the no longer visible Marisol.

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Marisol half expected the sight she saw when she walked into her tent, but to see Sokka searching frantically through her stuff still left her a little surprised.

"Looking for something?" asked Marisol with her arms crossed and one eye brow raised. Her voice startled Sokka, causing him to hit his head on the lid of the trunk he was searching through.

"Where did you stash my boomerang?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his head with a slight wince.

"Not in there," Marisol replied as she walked over to the head of her bed, moved the pillows aside and pointed to the misplace boomerang.

Sokka sighed in sheer relief, picked up the boomerang and rubbed his face against it lovingly. "Ooh my darling, I missed you. Yes I did…"

Marisol stared at him, wide eyed. Sokka felt her stare and paused, mid rub, and blushed.

Sokka cleared his throat, lowered his weapon and said, "You didn't see that…"

Marisol blinked. "Of course not," she replied.

Sokka gave her a guilty little smile, but the silence between them soon grew awkward.

"I guess I'll see you later then…" he said.

"Yeah, I guess…" she replied with a small smile.

More silence.

"I'll be…going…now," said Sokka uncomfortably, as he began to duck out of the tent but was pushed back in by Akina.

"Whoa, slow down thee turbo!" smiled Isadora when she too came into the tent.

"Find what you had forgotten?' Akina asked Marisol with a wicked little smile.

Marisol blushed scarlet and ducked her head.

"I had forgotten my boomerang," replied Sokka, saving Marisol from answering, "and Marisol helped me find it."

Hua raised an eyebrow and half smiled as her eyes darted between Sokka and Marisol. Just as Hua was obviously amused by the situation, Afina was obviously displeased. She stood blocking the doorway, arms crossed tightly with a menacing scowl distorting her features.

"If Margan catches you…" she chided, "…ooh you'll get it! Both of you!"

Marisol rolled her eyes and Sokka looked ashamed.

"Who? Who will get it?" called a girly voice from outside, "Of Afina, please move so I can come in and see!"

It was Marisol's turn to scowl like a fiend. "If you let her in here I won't be responsible for any harm that may come to her," Marisol hissed like an angry cat.

Sokka, on the other hand, stood paralyzed like a frightened rabbit.

Kiyomi poked Sokka on the arm and asked, "What's the matter with you, handsome?"

Sokka didn't move but his eyes darted from the door to Kiyomi's face several time before whispering, "If she finds out that I'm in here, we're screwed…"

A troubled look flitted across Kiyomi's face but Lily chuckled quietly and asked, "Old girlfriend of yours?"

"NO!" exclaimed Sokka louder than he had wanted to, causing him to clap a hand over his mouth.

Lily's lips pursed from hardly contained laughter and Akina shot him a hard look.

"She's a psycho stalker; cute, but crazy," said Sokka in a strained whisper.

Marisol looked from Sokka to the door and back, mouth agape.

Afina saw Marisol's reaction and began to laugh, all bitterness forgotten. "Darling, I think you may have stunned Marisol by saying Pinky out there was cute."

"Cute?" asked Ty Lee, "Who said I was cute? Come on guys, let…me…see!"

With that, Ty Lee shoved her way into the tent and stopped dead when she spotted Sokka.

"Oh…" she said, smoothing her hair back with her hand and smiling, "It's _you_."

As Ty Lee fluttered her eye lashes in a manner she thought to be flirtatious, Sokka smiled weakly, gave a tiny wave and said in a voice cracked by fear, "Hey…"

The other girls snarled in possessive anger, but Ty Lee paid them no attention. As she inched closer and closer to Sokka, a voice outside said in a stage whisper, "Sokka! Are you done yet?"

Ty Lee's head snapped to the door, her eyes narrowed wickedly and her smiled turned menacing. "The Avatar!" she hissed and stepped toward the door.

"Gotta go, bye!" said Sokka as he pushed Ty Lee out of his way and flat out ran out the door of the tent, leaving Ty Lee and the other running after him.

The boys weren't even one hundred yards away and Ty Lee was gaining on them.

In a last ditch effort to stop her, Marisol sprinted forward and used her momentum to throw herself forward and knock Ty Lee to the ground.

Angry as a spitting cat, Ty Lee flipped over and was about to start a fight with Marisol when the other girls came a jumped onto the original two in a dog pile.

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When both guys realized that they were no longer being pursued, they paused long enough to catch their breath.

"It's a good thing…" wheezed Aang slightly, "…that Marisol and her friends like you so much…"

Sokka flushed hotly. "They do not," he retorted a little too vehemently and took off towards Katara and Appa.

Aang smiled and laughed a little behind Sokka's back as Momo came in for a landing on Aang's shoulder.


	32. Chapter 32 Paying the Price

Finally I have time to post! Woot! Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter, even if it is a bit short for me. As you will find out, I like to put my characters through hell. Oh, and I would like to thank all who gave me a review for chapter 31, it's always appreciated. Well, I wish you happy readings and a Happy Water Tribe Day (Christmas XD) too!

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There was a muffled curse from the bottom of the pile and then Lily yelped in pain.

"You witch!" she growled and tried to rub her bitten shoulder but couldn't get her arm around.

"Well if you got off of me!" grumbled Marisol's voice from somewhere in the middle of the pile.

After several minutes of untangling themselves from each other, all eight of the girls were up and dusting themselves off.

"Why did you tackle me?" asked Ty Lee, out of the blue.

Marisol gave her a look that all but declared her feelings about Ty Lee and said, "They're my friends and you… you're an interloper!"

If Ty Lee's feelings were hurt she didn't let on. "Oh, I see…" she said emotionlessly.

Marisol snorted softly, shook her head and began to walk away when she was intercepted by none other than Hazo.

Marisol snarled ferociously but Hazo ignored it. "You should have come to me of your own free will," he said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she spat irritably.

"Because you refused me and abused me several times you pushed me to do what I did."

"What did you do?" asked Marisol with menacing softness. Hazo just smirked wickedly. "What did you do?!?" yelled Marisol, fingers curled to resemble claws.

From where the tents stood, Margan bellowed Marisol's name at the top of his lungs.

All the seasoned 'veterans', dancers or not, that heard Margan's shout winced. They knew what was going to happen to the unfortunate owner of that particular name.

Marisol looked up at Hazo, eyes begging him to tell her that it would be alright.

But Hazo remained silent. The unhidden, maniacal happiness that burned like fire in his grey eyes made Marisol shake her head and cover her open mouth in horror.

"You better go see what he wants," said Kiyomi quietly as she steered Marisol away from Hazo and to her tent.

Any cheekiness Marisol had used with Margan before had melted away in the face of the true terror she was feeling now. The last time Margan had yelled like that, the poor soul who was going to be punished came out of the encounter severely crippled. So, Marisol's fear was rightly justified.

Marisol walked up the mountain of a man with her head bowed submissively and nearly whispered, "Yes, sir?"

Marisol didn't look up. She didn't want to see the expression on Margan's face, since it would undoubtedly frighten her even more.

Margan didn't move for several long seconds. Marisol wasn't sure but she felt that he was doing nothing intentionally, so that the tension would rise and she would do or say something self incriminating. So, to keep from spilling her guts, Marisol bit her lip so hard it began to bleed.

The stalemate continued until Margan reached out, grabbed Marisol by her upper arm and flung her into her tent like a rag doll.

Marisol stumbled and fell to the floor with a wet thud, hitting her head on the crate she used as a night stand. Before she could blink the stars out of eyes, Margan hauled her to feet and slapped her so hard that her neck cracked painfully.

"YOU. LITTLE. LYING. WHORE!" yelled Margan, punctuating each word with a stinging blow to her face.

Finally with one last cruel slap, Margan let Marisol fall to the floor in a crumpled, crying heap. But, Margan wasn't done yet. He proceeded to kick her over and over with out any regard as to where his kicks landed.

"Please! Margan, please stop!" she cried between ragged, irregular breaths.

Margan paused. "Stop?" he asked mockingly as he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her up. "I'll stop when you stop be a bold face little liar!"  
Marisol tried to verbally defend herself, since she didn't dare bend while he had a hold of her, but Margan shook her by the hair still clenched in his fist, rattling the teeth in her head.

When the room stopped spinning, and Marisol was able to see straight, Margan picked her up off the ground and flung her onto the cot.

When Marisol saw that Margan had brought the hand cuffs with him she tried to scramble off the bed but Margan walloped her over the head and pinned her down. Marisol screamed bloody murder and Margan slapped her again but Marisol wouldn't shut up. Finally, Margan had had just about enough and hit Marisol so hard that her world went black.

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See, I told you I like to torture my characters. Stay tuned for the next chapter (which I have to finish writing and type it out)!!!


	33. Sorry guys

Wow I haven't been here for a while… I just wanted to post to let ya'll know that the stories here have pretty much died. I just lost interest in writing them anymore. Plus the fact that I got several flames from the same person didn't help any. I know that when I first read them I was really angry and I want to reply immediately but I'm glad I forced myself to give it time to get over it. I just know that when said author who flamed me actually posts something, I'll be level headed enough to comment fairly.

If anyone is curious where I've disappeared to, well I've headed over to Deviant Art. I don't get as much love there but most of my friends have stuff there. Sadly, everything I've posted so far only has tiny snippets of Avatar related material since I've moved on to other things. My account name is the same as the one I used for Fanfiction, so look me up if anyone is interested.

Sorry to have taken so long to tell you guys about my lack of inspiration and I want to thank everyone who had been an avid reader before I went on the looong hiatus. With out you guys, I would have quit a long time ago so thanks again.

I wish you all the best of luck in your writings and I hope that while I was here that I didn't step on too many toes. Thanks again guys and maybe you'll find me again somewhere else.

-Earthenrose

P.S. In case you can't seem to find me on DA (I know this happens a lot)go to the DA homepage and type in Magefire into the search box. Anything labeled Siren Song is me.


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